Hi,
One of these oddly-working features of MediaWiki is import sources: from
which wikis can you import content into your wiki.
The default is none. Nevertheless, a lot of wikis in all kinds of languages
do want to import from other wikis, which makes a lot of sense. You can see
the full list here:
https://noc.wikimedia.org/conf/highlight.php?file=InitialiseSettings.php
(This page is huge; search for wgImportSources.)
Since there is no default, every new wiki has to create its own entry
there. It's not a part of the usual wiki creation process (
https://wikitech.wikimedia.org/wiki/Add_a_wiki ), so people only notice
this when they try to import something and nothing works, at which point
they often aren't sure who should they ask to fix this.
Does anyone object to having some sensible default for this, so that at
least something will work when people try to import?
Taking the most common sources listed in the file above looks like a good
starting point.
I proposed this almost a year ago (
https://phabricator.wikimedia.org/T214139 ), but the commetns there suggest
that a wider consensus is needed, so here I am.
--
Amir Elisha Aharoni · אָמִיר אֱלִישָׁע אַהֲרוֹנִי
http://aharoni.wordpress.com
“We're living in pieces,
I want to live in peace.” – T. Moore
My dad recently said to me:
"I was solitated by them after looking something up. I thought it strange the way they were pleading for donations. They made it sound like they might be shutting down if we the general public didn't donate."
Has there been any research into how common it is for readers to get the wrong impression from the marketing messaging?
I've heard of this sort of thing happening before, and I think it's highly antithetical to our values to be deceptive.
Dear friends,
I wanted to share with you some changes in WMIL. This weekend, after more
than 6 years of service, Michal Lester will conclude her position as WMIL's
ED.
Michal, WMIL’s first ED, joined us more than 6 years ago, and was our
second employee. Michal’s joining marked the transition of WMIL from an
organization operated and managed by volunteers only to professional hired
staff supporting and leading the activity with the volunteers.
Michal started to initiate and lead large-scale projects and raise the
resources needed for the activity through collaborations, donations and
fund grants. From a one-employee organization with a limited budget, she
brought us to the current position as an established NGO, with varied
activity, hired staff to support it, volunteers and a sufficient budget to
support all of that.
Under her leadership, we initiated the education project in Hebrew, and
later in Arabic. We guided tens of thousands of teachers on how to work
with (and for) Wikipedia. We created training tools and tutorials, formed
years-long collaborations with dozens of organizations, and hosted the
international hackathon and later the GLAM conference. We represented WMIL
and our movement values in Parliament discussions and in discussion with
archives; and when they failed to cooperate we did not hesitate to “force”
them to give back to the public the photos that belong to them by law. The
list of projects and achievements is too long to summarize in one email.
We are proud to say that WMIL turned not only to a leading and recognized
organization in Israel, but also to one of the important and active
affiliates of the global movement.
Michal’s activity in WMIL was beyond that of an employee, but true
recruitment and belief in Wikimedia’s activity and values. Her
round-the-clock investment and great love to the movement, organization,
its employees and volunteers, serves proof. Many volunteers benefited from
Michal’s attention, advice and support at all times.
The Board, and I personally, would like to thank Michal for this
significant contribution that brought us to our current dignified position,
and we wish her the best of luck in the future. We will remember you as the
first ED who saw the hardship and labor pains of WMIL, and as WMIL’s
“mother” in its professional role. We extend to you our greatest thanks.
While Michal is leaving, I would like to congratulate Revital Poleg,
replacing Michal in her position. Revital is a former diplomat. She was one
of the founders of the Peres Peace Center, she served as Chief of Staff for
the Knesset Speaker; VP Business Development of a lobbying company;
External Relations and Resource Development Director for the Ruppin
Academic Center; and in her last position – Chief Executive and Head of the
Jewish Agency Mission to Brazil.
Revital brings extensive experience in large organizations, both local and
international, and a vast network of contacts in the private and public
sectors. She speaks Hebrew, English, Portuguese and Spanish.
We wish her good luck in her position, in filling Michal’s big shoes, and
we are positive she continues to advance WMIL forward.
*Itzik Edri*
Chairperson (volunteer)
itzik(a)wikimedia.org.il
+972-54-5878078
Hello colleagues,
For the next Wikimedia Café online video meeting, agenda items include:
* Documentation for Wikitext <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:Wikitext>
* The NavWiki <https://outreach.wikimedia.org/wiki/NavWiki> project
Last month's Wikimedia Café had a problem with an inaccurate time
conversion from USA Eastern time to UTC. People attempted to join the
meeting at different times based on whether they referred to UTC or to US
Eastern time. I apologize for the error, and I think that it has been
corrected for December.
The meeting style for the Café will emphasize discussion rather than
presentation. People are welcome to participate as listeners only if they
prefer.
Please see the page on Meta
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Caf%C3%A9> for more information
about the Café. Please watch the page for any updates, particularly to the
schedule or the agenda. Signing up for the meeting is optional, but is
helpful to the organizers so that we can estimate how many people will
attend. Signing up for the meeting also informs us who we should notify
individually if there are significant changes, such as to the schedule.
If there are any problems with connecting to the meeting or if you have any
questions or comments then please write on the Meta talk page.
Regards,
Pine
( https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Pine )
The Queering Wikipedia Conference will be in Linz, Austria, Friday 22 May - Sunday 24 May, 2020. It will be the first LGBTIQ+ centered conference in the history of Wikimedia events. This international conference is supported by the Wikimedia LGBT+ User Group, Wikimedia Austria, and the Wikimedia Foundation, and seeks proposals for presentations, panel discussions, capacity building workshops, strategy meetings, and team building sessions centering LGBTIQ+ information, participation, identity, and safety within Wikimedia projects.
For more information about the conference, the call for proposals, and the application for scholarships, please visit our Queering Wikipedia Conference page on Meta: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Queering_Wikipedia <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Queering_Wikipedia>
Thank you.
-----
With Incredulity toward Metanarratives,
Jeffrey
User:FULBERT
FULBERT(a)fulbert.org
Hello everyone,
The next Research Showcase will be live-streamed on Wednesday, December 18,
at 9:30 AM PST/17:30 UTC. We’ll have a presentation from Fabian Suchanek on
incomplete knowledge bases and one from Brian Keegan about Wikipedia and
the 2016 US Presidential election.
YouTube stream: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b4VrphM_TTA
As usual, you can join the conversation on IRC at #wikimedia-research. You
can also watch our past research showcases here:
https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Research/Showcase
This month's presentations:
Making Knowledge Bases More Complete
By Fabian Suchanek, Télécom Paris, Institut Polytechnique de Paris
A Knowledge Base (KB) is a computer-readable collection of facts about the
world (examples are Wikidata, DBpedia, and YAGO). The problem is that these
KBs are often missing entities or facts. In this talk, I present some new
methods to combat this incompleteness. I will also quickly talk about some
other research projects we are currently pursuing, including a new version
of YAGO. Publications <https://suchanek.name/work/publications/>
The Dynamics of Peer-Produced Political Information During the 2016 U.S.
Presidential Campaign
By Brian Keegan, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Information
Science, University of Colorado Boulder
Wikipedia plays a crucial role for online information seeking and its
editors have a remarkable capacity to rapidly revise its content in
response to current events. How did the production and consumption of
political information on Wikipedia mirror the dynamics of the 2016 U.S.
Presidential campaign? Drawing on systems justification theory and methods
for measuring the enthusiasm gap among voters, this paper quantitatively
analyzes the candidates' biographical and related articles and their
editors. Information production and consumption patterns match major events
over the course of the campaign, but Trump-related articles show
consistently higher levels of engagement than Clinton-related articles.
Analysis of the editors' participation and backgrounds show analogous
shifts in the composition and durability of the collaborations around each
candidate. The implications for using Wikipedia to monitor political
engagement are discussed. Paper
<http://www.brianckeegan.com/papers/CSCW_2019_Elections.pdf>
--
Janna Layton (she, her)
Administrative Assistant - Product & Technology
Wikimedia Foundation <https://wikimediafoundation.org/>
Hello,
This is an announcement about a new installment of the Language Showcase, a
series of presentations about various aspects of language diversity and its
connection to Wikimedia Projects.
This new installment will deal with the research about section translation
and upcoming improvements in mobile devices support for Content Translation.
This session is going to be broadcast over Zoom, and a recording will be
published for later viewing. You can also participate in the conversation
on IRC or with us on the Zoom meeting.
Please read below for the event details, including local time, joining
links and do let us know if you have any questions.
Thank you!
Amir
== Details ==
# Event: Language Showcase #4
# When: December 18, 2019 (Wednesday) at 13:00 UTC (check local time
https://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/fixedtime.html?iso=20191218T1300)
# Where:
Join Zoom Meeting
https://wikimedia.zoom.us/j/736193097
Meeting ID: 736 193 097
IRC - #wikimedia-office (on Freenode)
# Agenda:
Research about section translation and upcoming improvements in mobile
devices support for Content Translation.
--
Amir Elisha Aharoni · אָמִיר אֱלִישָׁע אַהֲרוֹנִי
http://aharoni.wordpress.com
“We're living in pieces,
I want to live in peace.” – T. Moore
