All,
On behalf of the Wikimania Steering Committee and the Wikimedia Foundation,
I am pleased to announce that we have decided to explore having Wikimania
2018 located in Cape Town, South Africa. It would be hosted by a team
<http://wikimedia.org.za/wiki/Wikimania_2018_team> led Douglas Scott with
support of the Wikimedia ZA chapter and the WMF. The proposal will be
further vetted by the WMF staff in the coming months, after which time we
hope to confirm the award.
This past Fall there were a total of four teams
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimania_2018> that expressed interest in
hosting in 2018. We would also like to thank the people from South
Africa, Armenia, Thailand, and Perth for all their effort in putting
together materials for our consideration and their time spent discussing
the possibilities. As a volunteer-led movement, it is very encouraging
to have so many who want to support Wikimania.
Please join us in congratulating the South African team. If any of you
would like to get involved or have questions/suggestions, please
contact Douglas
Scott douglas.i.scott(a)gmail.com
Sincerely,
Ellie Young
WMF Events Manager
On behalf of the Wikimania Steering Committee and Wikimedia Foundation
Hi everyone,
I hope that you all enjoyed your holiday break and have returned refreshed
and ready for the exciting year we have ahead! With apologies for sending
this out a few days late, here are the past week's updates on the movement
strategy process.
*Highlights from this past week:*
The Community Engagement department has been working on bringing a
cross-representation of affiliate representatives and contributors to the
Wikimedia Conference being held in late March in Berlin.[1] These folks
will be invited to discuss the thematic direction of the overall movement,
to share ideas, increase engagement, and begin finding places of agreement.
- We have sent invitations have been sent to 134 community members.
We’re working with them to verify availability and finalize arrangements by
the end of the month.
- Community members were identified based on their demonstrated
leadership within Wikimedia and/or expertise related to Wikimedia
movement-wide processes.
- Our goal is to use this opportunity to convene this group in a track
devoted to discussing movement-wide thematic directions, and take advantage
of plenary sessions.
*What's next:*
- We’re still working through the details, but I look forward to sharing
information about the team, including Lead Architect, who will be
facilitating us through the process over the coming months.
- We’ll be sharing more information about the additional folks attending
the Wikimedia Conference and the intended program, as they become available.
As always, you can track these updates on the Meta-Wiki portal for the
movement strategy.[1]
The Foundation is hosting our annual All Hands meeting this weekend in San
Francisco. I don’t anticipate this delaying the coming week's updates, but
wanted to give you a heads up that many people will be travelling next week
and it is possible we will have delayed responses as a result.
Cheers,
Katherine
PS. A version of this message is available for translation on Meta-Wiki:
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Strategy/Wikimedia_movement/2017/Updates/6_…
[1] https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Conference_2017
[2] https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Strategy/Wikimedia_movement/2017
--
Katherine Maher
Wikimedia Foundation
149 New Montgomery Street
San Francisco, CA 94105
+1 (415) 839-6885 ext. 6635
+1 (415) 712 4873
kmaher(a)wikimedia.org
Heads-up to any Wikipedia/Wikimedia peeps or interested parties that are
going to be in the SF Bay Area on Sunday, January 15, 2017 starting at 2
p.m.:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia_talk:Meetup/SF/Wikipedia_Day_2017
Hope you can make it. Be sure to RSVP. Cheers! Wayne Calhoon (and Ben
Creasy and Stephen LaPorte) - co-organizers.
[[User:Checkingfax]]
925-899-4051
PS: Please join in and add your edits to the event page and to its talk
page! It is a wiki! We can also use your help, if you are up to it. Put
your name somewhere on the volunteer list.
Although it is probably something innocuous such as a recent need to
moderate all comments by default, I am disappointed that my comment on
the recent Wikimedia blog post which I belive should be at
https://blog.wikimedia.org/2017/01/06/rethinking-digital-property-yale-isp/…
has still not appeared. So, I am copying it here:
This is a disturbingly simplistic analysis. "Copyright holders" are
mentioned only four times, as if they are in opposition to the
consumers of their products, and without acknowledging that they are
creating the works that the consumers clearly value as evidenced by
their desire to make, lend, and sell copies of the works.
The reality of our modern information economy is that large corporate
intermediaries like Apple (iTunes), Google (YouTube, Google Books and
Music), Pandora, Spotify, and the like are given free rein to make,
monetize, and sell as many copies of artists' and authors' works as
they wish, while three federal judges on the Copyright Royalty Board
very occasionally set "compulsory license" requirements whereby they
must pay the copyright holders -- usually publishers instead of
authors and artists -- for what would otherwise be considered rampant
abuse of the constitutionally motivated copy right to advance the
useful arts and sciences. But because these compulsory royalties
rarely see the pockets of the original artists and authors, very
little incentive to create outside the corporate top-40 and celebrity
author hegemony is ever generated.
When will the Wikimedia Foundation take a stand for a more equitable
distribution of compulsory license royalties to artists and authors,
who include thousands of their own volunteers who work commercially in
addition to giving away their time which allows the Foundation's
employees to take home their paychecks?
According to Department of Labor, in the 1970s, before the advent of
mass consumer copying, the U.S. economy supported three times as many
small and emerging artists and performers. There is no reason that the
Copyright Royalty Judges can not produce an intelligent, informed,
progressive, and humane compulsory license distribution incidence
schedule which will return our culture to its former glory. Where will
the Wikimedia Foundation be on that question?
Dear Wikimedians,
The deadline to register for the Wikimedia Conference 2017 closes in two days!
***Please note that this reminder does NOT affect the additional
invitations regarding the Movement Strategy track that are currently
being sent out by the WMF. If you have received this invitation,
please wait for further instructions that will be shared next week.***
For getting into the mood and to enhance the anticipation for the
conference, please review the current list of participants [1].
If you want to be part of the conference as a representative of your
affiliate and haven’t registered yet, do not miss this last chance to
sign up via the registration form [2]. On January 8, 2017 this form
will be closed.
Registration from the following affiliates are still missing:
=Chapters=
Wikimedia Canada
Wikimedia Česká republika
Wikimédia France
Wikimédia Magyarország
Wikimedia Italia
Wikimedia Ukraine
Wikimedia District of Columbia
Wikimedia New York City
Wikimedia Venezuela
=User Groups=
Basque Wikimedians User Group
Esperanto kaj Libera Scio
New England Wikimedians
PhilWiki Community
Wikimedia Community User Group Brasil
Wikimedia Community Brazilian Group of Education and Research
Wikimedia Community User Group Greece
Wikimedia Community User Group Ghana
Maithili Wikimedians User Group
Wikimedia Community User Group Turkey
Wikimedians of Bulgaria User Group
Wikimedians of Colorado User Group
Wikimedians of Latvia User Group
Wikimedians of Republic of Srpska
위키미디어 대한민국 (Wikimedians of Korea)
=Allied Organizations=
Centre for Internet & Society - Access to Knowledge Program
For further information, please visit the Meta page [3].
You can reach out to us any time via wmcon(a)wikimedia.de should you
have any questions or comments.
Best regards,
Daniela
on behalf of the WMCON organizing team
[1] https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Conference_2017/Participants%27_L…
[2] http://wmde.org/wmcon17registration link
[3] https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Conference_2017
Heu
To be fair it's a topic that isn't currently in our plate.
So to be honest, from a board level, I can't really give you an answer
right now. As said before, there might be legal constraints we can't
foresee.
I made a not to work on that topic, but it might take some time as the
current focus is on the strategy process.
Have a very good day,
Le 2 janv. 2017 9:46 AM, "Gnangarra" <gnangarra(a)gmail.com> a écrit :
Like most in western countries you'll find most of the WMF staff are
currently out of office so I wouldnt expect much back especially not
officially from them until after the 9th January.
On 2 January 2017 at 16:42, Jytdog at Wikipedia <jytdogtemp1(a)gmail.com>
wrote:
> This is something that people can natter over endlessly.
>
> The question is to the WMF board and management. These are the people who
> can authorize action or not. Anything else is just talk.
>
> Again - what discussions has the WMF had, at the corporate decision-making
> level, about taking legal action against companies that advertise WP
> editing services and that have no evidence of disclosure as required under
> the ToU?
>
> Thanks.
>
> On Sun, Jan 1, 2017 at 11:04 PM, Pine W <wiki.pine(a)gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > Good points, Gnangarra. I started to write out a reply before realizing
> > that maybe I would give ideas to our adversaries, so I'll wait here for
> > Legal to talk. Perhaps some of us can continue this conversation behind
> > closed doors.
> >
> > Pine
> >
> >
> > On Sun, Jan 1, 2017 at 7:59 PM, Gnangarra <gnangarra(a)gmail.com> wrote:
> >
> > > I think it would be nice for a more direct input from the WMF over
> those
> > > not following the Terms of use.
> > >
> > > I see some potential pitfalls, even in chasing companies that charge
> for
> > > content;
> > >
> > > - would this draw WMF into a legal editorial position
> > > - would it drive them to further hide their activities
> > > - what would damage would be done if a court says its ok for a
> > > company/individual to control its image even on Wikipedia. we
> already
> > > deal
> > > with the EUs right to vanish
> > >
> > > sometimes its better to not open the can. I think a lot more
> discussion
> > > over the implications and impact is needed unfortunately some of that
> can
> > > only be behind closed doors it going to need community trust(something
> I
> > > think isnt all there at the moment), before asking the WMF legal to
> > pick a
> > > fight with anyone.
> > >
> > > On 2 January 2017 at 08:52, Pine W <wiki.pine(a)gmail.com> wrote:
> > >
> > > > (: I think that Legal could at least describe in general terms what
> > they
> > > > are currently doing and have plans to do in the near future.
> > > >
> > > > If it turns out that the answers are "we aren't doing much and we
> > aren't
> > > > planning to do more", then yes, asking the higher-ups to do
something
> > > about
> > > > this sounds like a good idea. By the way, I think the timing for
this
> > > > discussion is good, because WMF should be in the early stages of
> > > > formulating the 2017-2018 annual plan.
> > > >
> > > > Happy new year!
> > > >
> > > > Pine
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > On Sun, Jan 1, 2017 at 3:53 PM, Jytdog at Wikipedia <
> > > jytdogtemp1(a)gmail.com
> > > > >
> > > > wrote:
> > > >
> > > > > Pine, thanks for your reply, but Legal will not do anything like
> this
> > > > > unless they are instructed by management. That is why I directed
> my
> > > > > question to the board and management.
> > > > >
> > > > > I've asked at Jimbo's talk page (bad timing, archived over the
> > > holidays,
> > > > > will repost) and at Katherine's WP talk page.
> > > > >
> > > > > Am very interested to hear from the board and/or WMF management on
> > > this.
> > > > >
> > > > > Jytdog
> > > > >
> > > > >
> > > > > > Date: Fri, 30 Dec 2016 10:50:07 -0800
> > > > > > From: Pine W <wiki.pine(a)gmail.com>
> > > > > > To: Wikimedia Mailing List <wikimedia-l(a)lists.wikimedia.org>,
> > > > > > Wikimedia Legal <legal(a)wikimedia.org>
> > > > > > Subject: Re: [Wikimedia-l] Where is WMF with pursuing companies
> > that
> > > > > > offer paid editing services
> > > > > > Message-ID:
> > > > > > <CAF=dyJhC8UqxkOY9FG9diGyobdgbbQaK_
> > > > +M=m9E5Bo3aysPAOw(a)mail.gmail.
> > > > > > com>
> > > > > > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8
> > > > > >
> > > > > > Forwarding to Legal. I'm aware of the general problem of
> > undisclosed
> > > > COI
> > > > > > editing, and agree that there should be some enforcement of
this,
> > > > > > particularly given that WMF wants to use Wikipedia's NPOV and RS
> > > > policies
> > > > > > as part of WMF's marketing. I also wonder if WMF might be able
to
> > > > recover
> > > > > > the costs of enforcement expenses somehow, perhaps by including
a
> > > > > statement
> > > > > > in the TOS that says that people and their employers who engage
> in
> > > > > certain
> > > > > > types of undisclosed COI editing must (1) reimburse WMF for
> > attorney
> > > > > fees,
> > > > > > court fees, and other related costs of investigations and
> > > enforcement,
> > > > > and
> > > > > > (2) forfeit all revenue from their related activities to WMF. My
> > > guess
> > > > is
> > > > > > that significant financial penalties would be a bigger deterrent
> > than
> > > > > > name-and-shame and cease-and-desist letters.
> > > > > >
> > > > > > Pine
> > > > > >
> > > > > > ------------------------------------------------------------
> > > ----------
> > > > > >
> > > > > >
> > > > > > Date: Fri, 30 Dec 2016 03:50:03 -0500
> > > > > > From: Jytdog at Wikipedia <jytdogtemp1(a)gmail.com>
> > > > > > To: wikimedia-l(a)lists.wikimedia.org
> > > > > > Subject: [Wikimedia-l] Where is WMF with pursuing companies that
> > > offer
> > > > > > paid editing services
> > > > > > Message-ID:
> > > > > > <CAAOzcj3cLaJOhvV6LvtqPTtULdj+
> 9Ccanmht7EJQVLv+Lqa=Ww@mail.
> > > > > > gmail.com>
> > > > > > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8
> > > > > >
> > > > > > I am interested to learn if WMF management or the board has
> > discussed
> > > > > > taking legal action against companies that offer services to
edit
> > > > > Wikipedia
> > > > > > and that have no on-Wiki presence disclosing their edits (in
> en-WP
> > at
> > > > > > least) per the Terms of Use. We all know the companies and
their
> > > > > websites,
> > > > > > where they use the Wikipedia name, etc. I have looked and never
> > > found
> > > > > > disclosure by any of those companies in en-WP. I have looked
and
> > > found
> > > > > no
> > > > > > public evidence of WMF legal engaging with these companies,
other
> > > than
> > > > > > Wiki-PR.
> > > > > >
> > > > > > Some en-Wiki editors recently identified a long-term paid editor
> > and
> > > > > > brought the matter to ANI: thread is here
> > > > > > <https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:
> > > > > > Administrators%27_noticeboard/Incidents&oldid=757170150#
> > > > > > Earflaps_-_accusations_of_being_an_undisclosed_paid_
> > > > > > editor_and_a_sock_puppet>.
> > > > > > This brought this whole thing to mind, and is something I have
> been
> > > > > wanting
> > > > > > to ask about.
> > > > > >
> > > > > > Three questions:
> > > > > >
> > > > > > Has this been discussed, and if so, what has/have the outcomes
> > been?
> > > > > >
> > > > > > Also, is there budget for WMF legal to take action against such
> > > > > companies?
> > > > > >
> > > > > > If not, would you all please consider that?
> > > > > >
> > > > > > Thanks.
> > > > > >
> > > > > _______________________________________________
> > > > > Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at:
> https://meta.wikimedia.org/
> > > > > wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines
> > > > > New messages to: Wikimedia-l(a)lists.wikimedia.org
> > > > > Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/
> > mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l,
> > > > > <mailto:wikimedia-l-request@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=
> unsubscribe>
> > > > >
> > > > _______________________________________________
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> > > > wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines
> > > > New messages to: Wikimedia-l(a)lists.wikimedia.org
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> > > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > --
> > > GN.
> > > President Wikimedia Australia
> > > WMAU: http://www.wikimedia.org.au/wiki/User:Gnangarra
> > > Photo Gallery: http://gnangarra.redbubble.com
> > > _______________________________________________
> > > Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/
> > > wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines
> > > New messages to: Wikimedia-l(a)lists.wikimedia.org
> > > Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l,
> > > <mailto:wikimedia-l-request@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe>
> > >
> > _______________________________________________
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> > New messages to: Wikimedia-l(a)lists.wikimedia.org
> > Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l,
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--
GN.
President Wikimedia Australia
WMAU: http://www.wikimedia.org.au/wiki/User:Gnangarra
Photo Gallery: http://gnangarra.redbubble.com
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Dear all,
On behalf of Wikimedia Argentina we hope the new year find you all well!
Moreover and like every year, we have launched our annual activities
report. Even though it is in Spanish, we hope you can enjoy it!
Please find the report here <http://www.wikimedia.org.ar/memoriaanual2016/>.
Hugs!
--
Anna Torres Adell
Directora Ejecutiva
*A.C. Wikimedia Argentina*
(Apologies for cross-posting)
Hello!
After almost two years, the first Inspire Campaign on gender diversity is
coming to a close.[1] As an initial experiment in proactive grantmaking, we
consider the campaign a success! It engaged over 600 people in addressing
the gender gap, resulting in both quantitative and qualitative shifts:
approximately 13,000 articles were created or improved, the number of women
leading grant-funded projects significantly increased, and our thinking
about gender diversity expanded in both expected and unexpected ways. While
there are still a few grants that will continue into 2017, we believe this
campaign has been a success in bringing attention, diverse thinking and new
progress to the topic of gender diversity within our movement.
Many thanks to the teams that have dedicated their time and effort over
these months!
We have put together a report, focusing on the outcomes of the Inspire
grants that submitted reports by August 2016.
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Grants:Evaluation/Inspire_
Campaigns/Gender_gap
Our report focuses on the major themes we saw across these 11 grants, and
especially highlights how people participated and contributed in expected
and unexpected ways. For instance, we now know that people participated in
many more ways than just editing; we also know that in addition to article
improvement and creation, multiple approaches were adopted to rectify
content bias and content gaps.
In the long term, once the movement strategy is complete in August 2017,
our team will revisit the topic of gender diversity under the new lens of
the movement’s strategic priorities. By designing new or improved models
for proactive grantmaking, our hope is that Inspire campaigns will continue
to ignite innovative thinking how to address key issues like the gender
diversity within our movement.
Happy reading!
Alex Wang, Marti Johnson, Sati Houston, and Chris Schilling
[1] https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Grants:IdeaLab/Inspire/Archi
ve/Gender_gap_campaign
--
Alexandra Wang
Program Officer
Community Resources
Wikimedia Foundation <http://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Home>
+1 415-839-6885
Skype: alexvwang
Hello colleagues,
Michal Lester from Wikimedia Israel and Tsipi Erann from Wikiwomen recently
sent an email to the Gendergap mailing list regarding the passing of
User:Danveg.
https://lists.wikimedia.org/pipermail/gendergap/2017-January/006453.html.
Condolences to her family and friends. A memorial project has been
established on Hebrew Wikipedia at
https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%95%D7%99%D7%A7%D7%99%D7%A4%D7%93%D7%99%D7…
.
I would like to remind all of us that there may be people in our community
who are experiencing personal difficulties or distress, and that
professional resources may be available to assist. As with many situations,
I think that getting help before a situation becomes a crisis is
preferable, and I would encourage people to take the courageous step to do
so. Emotional support from friends and family, professional counseling, and
medicines may all be helpful in helping someone. The Mayo Clinic provides a
resource called "Depression: Supporting a family member or friend":
http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/depression/in-depth/depressio….
Quoting the Mayo Clinic page: "People with depression may not recognize or
acknowledge that they're depressed. They may not be aware of signs and
symptoms of depression, so they may think their feelings are normal. All
too often, people feel ashamed about their depression and mistakenly
believe they should be able to overcome it with willpower alone. But
depression seldom gets better without treatment and may get worse. With the
right treatment approach, the person you care about can get better." If you
or someone you know is in distress, or is frequently sad, then I would
encourage reaching out for professional support.
In the circumstance that an on-wiki situation does become an emergency,
includes a threat of harm, *or* if someone discusses harm and you aren't
sure how serious the threat is, English Wikipedia has the following
resource, which includes information about how to Wikipedians are
encouraged to respond if someone on-wiki appears to be suicidal:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Responding_to_threats_of_harm.
Alternatively, if an off-wiki situation appears to be an emergency,
includes a threat of harm, *or* includes a threat that you don't know how
to evaluate, then please contact the local emergency services.
Sometimes life is stressful and sad for almost everyone. If you or someone
you know is overwhelmed, frequently feels sad or discouraged, or is
distressed, then please reach out for professional support. Rather than
attempting to go through the dark night alone, or if you see someone else
who is struggling with their challenges, please ask for help.
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Brosen_sunrise.jpg
Regards,
Pine
