Dear Wikimedians,
Happy Monday! Recently, we have announced EduWiki Week
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Education/EduWiki_Week_2022>! A virtual
festival for free knowledge in education, from 21st February 2022 to 25th
February 2022. This will be a hybrid event with asynchronous activities,
live interviews, and a final community showcase session. Stay tuned for
more updates!
The community showcase session will be on the 23rd of February from 13:00
UTC till 16:00 UTC. You can submit a proposal to highlight your work,
ideas, research or tools with the education community. The deadline to
submit a proposal is now extended till the 4th of February. Submit your
proposal here
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Education/EduWiki_Week_2022#Community_Showc…>
.
If you or your affiliate plan to organize regional events during the week,
like interviews, edit-a-thons, training or other events, please add them
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Education/EduWiki_Week_2022#Asynchronous_Ce…>
to the asynchronous celebrations section.
Please let me know if you have any questions.
Thanks
Sailesh (Wikimedia Foundation), Florencia (WM Argentina), Klara (WM
Polska), Vjollca (WM of Albanian Languages UG), Will (WikiEducation),
Kashyap, Elfego (Wikimedia Foundation).
--
Sailesh Patnaik (He/Him)
Program Officer, Education
Wikimedia Foundation <https://wikimediafoundation.org/>
Hello,
The Wikimedia Foundation’s Global Advocacy team is excited to announce the
approval of the Human Rights Policy
<https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Human_Rights_Policy#Frequently_Asked_…>
by the Board of Trustees on 8 December 2021. Please read our blog post
<https://diff.wikimedia.org/2021/12/09/what-the-wikimedia-foundations-new-hu…>
about the policy and what it means for the Wikimedia Foundation’s work in
the coming years on Diff. We invite you to join representatives of the
Foundation’s Global Advocacy and Human Rights teams here
<http://meet.google.com/wio-vdkw-phd> for a conversation hour tomorrow, 10
December, at 10:00 AM ET (15:00 UTC) to address any immediate concerns,
questions, or suggestions regarding this policy or how it will be
implemented. The session will be recorded for later viewing and you may
submit questions by email to myself (rgaines(a)wikimedia.org) and Ziski Putz (
zputz(a)wikimedia.org) ahead of or following the conversation hour.
Additional conversation hours on this policy will be made available in the
coming weeks.
Best regards,
--
*Ricky Gaines *(he/him/his)
Senior Manager, Advocacy Audiences
Wikimedia Foundation
rgaines(a)wikimedia.org
Before this last 21st day in the 21st year of 21st century
is globally over, I try to re-initiate re-thinking
on this 15 years old proposal for a Wikipedian-in-residence
http://original-research.blogspot.com/2006/12/wikipedian-in-residence-propo…
but also articles in (only) 27 language Wikipedias,
Meta, Outreach wiki and elsewhere
for updating the notion of WIR and roles it performs in Wikimedia,
an ecosystem of diverse entities, dynamics and relations.
As Wikimedians with wider perspective than a single wiki project, often
more than a single language and for sure more than single community, gear
up to discuss and act on 2030 strategy, that includes new initiatives, new
formations of decentering resources, new content, forms and methods of
working, with new priorities, conditions, tools, services and what
not…there is also a value in reflecting and reimagining what is already
established but often overlooked practice.
Some of the WIR practitioners have been self-reflecting on and off publicly
https://wikistrategies.net/5-things-wikipedian-in-residence/ and engaging
with communities https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tc9YgFm2eso there was also
network establishment.
3 years ago WREN UG (Wikimedians in Residence Exchange Network User Group)
was recognized with the aim to protect the common elements of the role and
for creating a peer support network of new and experienced WIRs for
collaboration and to encourage a global professional environment which
inspires institutions to appoint persons to engage with Wikimedia.
In recent times Wikipedian-in-Residence, is more often
Wikimedian-in-Residence, in rapid growth of Commons and Wikidata (but also
in 2021 first one in Wiktionary) and sometimes Wikimedian-at-Large, in more
generalized practice of strategy or direction setting work.
Additionally in time of pandemic when doing physical events is challenging
and many of the (potential) partner organizations are closing down or
limiting public events to bare essential, short and transient it is more
important than ever that individuals (rather than cohorts of editathon
enthusiasts) keep revisiting institutions and work with them in a most
flexible mode and scale.
Finally to start both re-visioning and maybe even re-positioning WIRs in
Wikimedia we should think of what this network of ‘free agents’ can bring
towards 2030, beyond what WMF, affiliates, UGs, HUBs, WikiProjects and
other organizational forms can. Also think how much more useful this
initial inspiration of artists, writers and researchers in residence could
be if these creative and critical roles in the art and cultural sector get
embraced and encouraged more often and more intentionally.
Z. Blace
Hi everyone,
we had articles in Germany published connecting the activities of Wikimedia
Enterprise with our licensing advocacy. Please find below the article of a
filmmaker, published last week in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, one
of the large German newspapers. Below you find our response, published this
week in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. I hope this is useful for
further debates.
Kind regards
Christian
*******************************************
*Wikimedia perverts the common good*
<https://www.faz.net/aktuell/feuilleton/medien/wikimedia-plant-die-kommerzia…>
*Wikimedia plans to commercialize its content. At the same time, the
organization is lobbying hard to get its hands on high-quality free content
from public broadcasters. This is ruining the filmmakers*.
The Wikipedia information platform has so far been financed by donations
from Silicon Valley tech giants, among others. These include primarily the
market-dominating Internet giants such as Google, Facebook, Apple et
cetera, all of which earn money through traffic with content from
Wikipedia. In specialist circles, these donations are regarded as a
reciprocal business: Donors and Wikipedia profit from each other.
Wikimedia is the operating organization behind Wikipedia, but it has long
been looking for a stable business model to finance itself. In the spring
of 2021, Wikimedia finally announced that it would build a corporate
interface that would simplify the automated use of Wikipedia content and
for which commercial companies would pay. In other words: money is to be
made with the content on Wikipedia. For example, with services such as the
voice assistants Siri <https://www.faz.net/aktuell/technik-motor/thema/siri>
or Alexa, which access content via Wikipedia. The donation business based
on reciprocity, as described above, would thus be transformed into a proper
business relationship. The name for it: Wikimedia Enterprise API.
For this business to be profitable in the long term, Wikimedia must ensure
the comprehensive supply of information on Wikipedia, but also enhance it
for the social networks
<https://www.faz.net/aktuell/technik-motor/thema/soziale-netzwerke> with
high-quality images and films. Expanded offerings increase demand. And in
order to secure the capital-rich clientele in the long term - according to
the law of Internet capitalism - Wikipedia could also become the dominant
platform in the education sector for images and films that can be accessed
as free as possible.
Contempt for the state and collectivism
Wikimedia Deutschland's intensive lobbying campaign for so-called "free
licenses", which has been ongoing for several years, should also be
understood in this context. Public films, especially documentaries, are to
be offered free of charge on Wikipedia via CC licensing (Creative Commons
licenses). Many know this campaign under the formula "Public money = Public
good". A vulgarization of the idea of the common good that devalues the
legal status of goods whose production takes place through state
redistribution or in publicly supported economic segments such as the film
and television industry. The claim is an expression of a typical
contemporary amalgamation of libertarian contempt for the state and
collectivist ideals, which in this case hides quite shamelessly behind
rhetoric about the common good and flickering fantasies of the "free
Internet”.
In recent years, Wikimedia's lobbying activities around the reform of
European copyright law have resulted in striking rejection from German
production and copyright associations. With the public broadcasters, on the
other hand, they have been somewhat successful: At the intensive
instigation of Wikimedia, there have been pilot tests with CC-licensed
clips from productions of the "Terra X" documentary series (ZDF) in the
last two years. And indeed, CC clauses are increasingly found in the fine
print of individual Terra X production contracts. This is the result of
so-called "round tables" at which, it should be noted, no representation of
the German producer community was present. Wikimedia, at any rate, is
celebrating its statistics today; the Terra-X clips are generating
respectable user numbers on the Wikipedia page.
The German film and television industry and all those creatively involved
are now rubbing their eyes in the face of how this rose-tinted deception is
catching on, not only among broadcaster executives but also in media policy
circles. They have all failed to ask the obvious question: Why does
Wikimedia need CC-licensed public service content at all? Wikimedia could
also simply enter into a blanket licensing agreement with the relevant
collecting societies such as VG Bild-Kunst. Just like schools,
universities, and libraries do. And just as Wikimedia itself wants to
conclude user agreements with Google
<https://www.faz.net/aktuell/wirtschaft/thema/google>, Apple, Amazon or
Facebook for facilitated access to content held on Wikipedia. It would be
easy to solve all the legal issues. And thanks to the collecting societies
that represent the interests of filmmakers, authors and ancillary copyright
holders would also have their fair or livelihood-protecting share of the
money flows.
Propaganda for "free licenses"
Wikimedia has rejected VG Bild-Kunst's offer to license protected works. As
long as its campaign in Germany has not completely failed, the
organization is apparently continuing to speculate on CC-licensed,
high-quality public-domain freeware, for which it does not have to conclude
licensing agreements with the collecting societies precisely because it is
already CC-licensed. A good deal for Wikimedia and the Internet giants. A
disastrous one for the production landscape.
Notwithstanding. Self-publication of content via Creative Commons on
subject-specific platforms or in social media makes perfect sense for
certain content such as academic publications or even NGO or hobby films.
Professional film works, on the other hand, always represent bundles of
legally guaranteed legal rights for script, direction, production, camera,
music et cetera. Films created under professional market conditions are
simply not suitable for simplified publication via Creative Commons
licensing.
Wikimedia ignores these facts in its ongoing propaganda about "free
licenses" and waves away the criticism with colorful flags that say "common
good". In their own interest. At the expense of us filmmakers, at the
expense of authors and copyright holders.
The German film and television landscape is facing enormous challenges due
to the growing importance of platforms and the resulting dynamics in the
audiovisual market. Perhaps as never before. At this time, it is crucial
that those with political responsibility as well as the public broadcasters
use these challenges in intensive dialog with filmmakers as an opportunity
to sustainably strengthen the production landscape in all its diversity.
Even better, to allow its creative power to unfold better than before.
What filmmakers need for this are stable legal foundations and fair market
standards. The stickers with the vulgar formula "public money = public
good" call these foundations into question. They should now finally be
scraped off the windshields of media policy in Germany.
David Bernet is a documentary filmmaker and co-chair of AG DOK
(Professional Association of Documentary Filmmakers in Germany).
***************************************************
Free licenses for the common good
<https://www.faz.net/aktuell/feuilleton/wikimedia-ard-und-zdf-freie-lizenzen…>
by Dr. Christian Humborg, Executive Director of Wikimedia Deutschland
Public money - public good! With this formula, Wikimedia Deutschland is
campaigning for knowledge content that is financed with tax money or the
broadcasting fee to be available to everyone. Some see their business model
threatened by this demand. "This is ruining filmmakers," reads an opinion
piece published this week by documentary filmmaker and co-chair of AG DOK,
David Bernet.
This is a view that ignores the possibility of new financing models,
especially for filmmakers and media professionals - and above all the
absolute necessity of finally adapting the public broadcasting system in
Germany to the realities of the 21st century. Politicians and the
broadcasting commissions of the federal states themselves have long
recognized that something has to be done. Broadcasting content only via the
traditional channels of radio and television no longer does justice to the
mission of the public broadcasters. If you want to create good, reliable
content for everyone, you have to offer it in the way it is used today:
Accessible at any time, shareable, adaptable.
It is alarming that, in this situation, creative people are being ground
down in the dispute between content exploiters such as film companies and
publishers, platforms, public broadcasters and politicians. But it is
incomprehensible that David Bernet points the finger at Wikipedia and
Wikimedia, of all places.
The knowledge content financed by taxes and broadcasting fees is manifold,
but access and use are anything but self-evident: Why are publicly financed
research data behind paywalls of private specialist publishers? Why is the
Axel Springer publishing house forced to acquire rights for the broadcast
of the historically significant Elefantenrunde on election night? Why don't
public broadcasters make these rights available from the outset, especially
when it comes to purely in-house productions? Wikimedia is not concerned
with entertainment or weekly sporting events. But publicly funded knowledge
content should be free. It should be permanently findable, usable and
available regardless of location.
Freely licensed - and adequately funded
Creatives - apart from a few superstars - still earn far too little money
from their valuable work. Interest groups and employer organizations, above
all public broadcasters, urgently need to work on fair remuneration. At the
same time, it is also a matter of greater public appreciation of their
work. I hardly know any creatives who are only concerned about the money
and not also about attention. Provided that they are fairly remunerated,
free licenses can address both points.
If creators receive five euros for their content and another one euro each
for two subsequent uses, what would be so bad about it if they received
seven euros instead and the work was free for that? Also in terms of
predictable financial planning, I would prefer the latter. In fact,
creatives are regularly confronted with so-called total buyout clauses as
the only contract model, but without free licensing and without reuse
options.
Regardless of the financing, the free licensing of content often fails due
to the lack of suitable contract templates. Experience shows that those who
have to deal with the necessary formalities for every project again - and
sometimes against resistance - quickly give up. Public broadcasters
therefore urgently need to develop contract templates that enable editorial
teams and commissioned creatives to produce content under free licenses in
an uncomplicated and legally secure manner.
One thing is clear: Whether creators are adequately compensated for their
services by public broadcasters should not depend on licensing. Free
licenses bring great advantages for broadcasters and society, such as
simpler and longer-lasting usability, simpler rights clearance, and
potentially greater visibility. These advantages should also be remunerated
accordingly. In any case, creators and editors must be enabled to use free
licenses without fear of loss of income.
One reason for the difficult negotiating position of creative professionals
is the lack of a strong lobby. For the many creatives, negotiations on an
equal footing would only be possible if individuals did not pull out. Just
how difficult it is to act collectively in the face of monopolists was
demonstrated again in the newspaper market last week, for example, when it
became known that Madsack had signed a contract with Google for Showcase.
The intention to bundle the negotiating power on the side of the content
users in Corint Media did not work out at that point. The role of
collecting societies is extremely important and it is to be welcomed that
they are no longer allowed to represent only their members in some sectors.
It's also about reach
Wikimedia has always urged rights compliance and at the same time called
for the modernization of copyright where it no longer functions reasonably
in a digital age. On the other hand, it was the large advertising platforms
such as YouTube whose rise and growth would hardly have been conceivable
without disregard for legal standards. Precisely because Wikimedia respects
copyright, it relies on free licenses that make it possible for everyone to
use and edit content permanently and in a legally secure manner.
Furthermore, Wikimedia welcomes all considerations for a non-commercial,
European media platform as a basis for the exchange of publicly funded
content. Instead, public broadcasters in EU member states mostly limit
themselves to short-term collaborations, limited also by national
exploitation licenses, while at the same time uploading content to globally
available commercial platforms such as Youtube.
The example of Terra X from ZDF shows that there are distribution
alternatives, such as the Wikimedia platform Commons. The Terra X clips
posted there alone currently achieve more than two million views per month.
To put it in perspective, that's two million views more than if they were
to appear only in the media libraries of the public broadcasters for a year.
Making Terra X clips available benefits the quality of Wikipedia, no
question. But it primarily benefits the viewers - and it's good for Terra
X's sustainable reach. Reaching many people is the mission of public
broadcasters. Not to mention, Wikipedia articles committed to a neutral
point of view are certainly a more suitable environment for public service
information content than YouTube and other commercial platforms.
The collaboration between ZDF and Wikipedia on the Terra-X broadcast comes
from a volunteer group. This group, "Wiki Loves Broadcast," points out in
its response to
<https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Wiki_Loves_Broadcast/Statement_zum_…>
David Bernet's post that it is solely up to the volunteer community to
incorporate content like ZDF's clips into Wikipedia. Neither Wikimedia
Deutschland nor the Wikimedia Foundation can influence this.
Knowledge that belongs to everyone
Wikimedia is financially independent. Wikimedia is financed by donations
and membership fees from the millions of people who use Wikipedia and other
wiki projects. In concrete terms, Wikimedia Deutschland is backed by just
under 100,000 association members. In total, more than 500,000 people
supported Wikimedia Deutschland financially last year. In 2021, there was
actually money from platforms. While the figure in 2020 was 0%, in 2021 it
accounted for about 0.2% of revenue. I do not see any threat to
independence in this order of magnitude.
Internationally, too, millions of small donations ensure precisely this
independence. For the coming year - as in previous years - we expect
payments from companies and donations of more than $1,000 to account for
less than 20% of the Wikimedia Foundation's total income.
Two things are certain: Wikimedia cannot sell content at all, because
Wikimedia does not own any content, unlike any creative person. No profit
flows from Wikimedia to individuals, but all income is used solely for the
non-profit projects. Personally, I'm glad that among the world's major
internet platforms there is at least one that is not concerned with profit.
On Sun, Jan 30, 2022 at 6:11 PM Nathan <nawrich(a)gmail.com> wrote:
> I had the same reaction! Lots of old memories.
>
> I wonder, did we ever find out if the Lila-era WMF paid lots of
> ex-employees in exchange for non-disparagement?
>
> Reading through the thread, I find it very confusing how hard people
> worked to make sure information like that never got out.
>
I think it’s less interesting how many/how much was spent on
non-disparagements[1], and more interesting what a general post-mortem of
that period would show.
Some questions asked then are still things that would be useful to ask (at
least about the future, it’s been six years so probably not *that* useful
to ask them about 2015-2016 anymore):
(1) What mechanisms was/is the board using to measure ED performance? for
example, at the time, the board did not do executive team exit interviews;
why not? has that changed? A board shouldn’t micromanage an ED of course,
but it also has a responsibility to make sure it has some idea what is
going on.
(2) What mechanisms was/is the board using to measure organizational
health? For example, in 2015 we did an employee engagement survey only when
morale had already plummeted over a cliff; the board never asked for one.
Should it have? If not, what should it have been doing instead? (The way it
did listen to staff—anonymous backchannels available only to certain
staff—was… honestly not ideal. I understand that the HR team now does
regular engagement surveys; no idea if those are reported to the board’s
Talent and Culture Committee[2]?)
(3) Does the board have any bright line tests for new appointed board
members in terms of what positions and past actions are/aren’t acceptable?
How is appointment, more generally, handled? (The board genuinely does
badly need experienced tech company leadership, because for better or for
worse WMF is a tech company. But what lessons could have been learned from
the failed(?) appointments during Lila’s tenure? Would any of them have
been relevant now?)
(4) What has the board done to address the challenge of the lifetime board
seat, and “founder syndrome” more generally? When I posted here about this
question a year ago[3], many employees and long-time editors immediately
**but privately** thanked me for raising the issue. That is, in my
experience, much more telling about the WMF staff experience than anything
to do with board elections.
It’s almost certainly too late to do a proper post-mortem - it’s been
almost six years! - and it’d certainly be a distraction from Maryana’s new
leadership. But perhaps the next generation of community-elected board
members could pick up the forward-looking versions of these questions.
Luis
[1] Non-disparagement clauses might be interesting to understand within
that context, but simply listing who did/didn’t take one, or how much was
spent, *without the broader context *of legitimate exec team turnover,
burnout, disempowerment, low pay for employees expected to live in SF, etc.,
would be unhelpful to the movement and possibly damaging to those
individuals.
[2] membership not updated in 2+ years?
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_Board_Talent_%26_Cultu…
; minutes not updated in 7+ years?
https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:HR_Committee
[3]
https://www.mail-archive.com/search?l=wikimedia-l%40lists.wikimedia.org&q=d…
Dear all,
I hope to find you in good health and in a good mood! I want to share with
you information related to the activities of the Wikimedia Community in
Republika Srpska. Our annual work report for 2021 is available on the
following page:
- Wikimedians of Republic of Srpska: Annual report 2021
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_user_groups/Reports/Wikimedians_o…>
.
If you have any questions or suggestions - we are at your disposal!
Best regards,
Miroslav Tanasković
Wikimedia Community
of the Republic of Srpska
*„**Замислите свијет у коме **свака особа на планети има **слободан приступ
цјелокупном људском знању.* *То је *
*оно на чему ми радимо.“*
Hello everyone,
The Community Development team
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Community_Development> at the Wikimedia
Foundation is hosting our first ever community call on February 23, 2022
from 15:00 - 16:00 UTC on Zoom
<https://wikimedia.zoom.us/j/84302371758?pwd=b1ZFNTMyaFdJRCtxbzIyaU13OWlmUT09>
.
The purpose of the community call is to provide a space for volunteers to
meet the Community Development team. The five-person Community Development
team is responsible for developing accessible opportunities for volunteers
to grow critical capacities and leadership skills for movement
sustainability and growth. The community call is also a shared space for
all volunteers to hear or speak about projects related to capacity building
& leadership development in the Wikimedia community.
Our first call, Meet the Community Development Team will include a sign up
sheet
<https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdIiyAlq7uKBp4eqmnbyVr9Zmi3LBjCQgZ…>for
those who would like to speak for 5-10 minutes about their
individual/community capacity building work.
If you would simply like to attend and listen, join the Zoom link at the
scheduled call time, please find the link here
<https://wikimedia.zoom.us/j/84302371758?pwd=b1ZFNTMyaFdJRCtxbzIyaU13OWlmUT09>
.
Although the primary language of the call is English, we are committed to
providing simultaneous translation to the best of our ability. Please use
the same sign up sheet
<https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdIiyAlq7uKBp4eqmnbyVr9Zmi3LBjCQgZ…>
to indicate your language preference so that we can best accommodate
translation support as needed.
Some may be asking, what is capacity building and why is the Community
Development team supporting this work?
What is capacity building? Capacity building is any activity aimed at
developing a skill or capability in others; it can take many forms, ranging
from formal training through online self-study courses to individual
mentorship.
The “Invest in Skill and Leadership Development”
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Strategy/Wikimedia_movement/2018-20/Recomme…>
recommendation of the 2030 Wikimedia Movement Strategy
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Strategy/Wikimedia_movement/2018-20/Recomme…>encourages
movement-wide capacity building as a necessity to achieve our strategic
commitment to Knowledge Equity. Capacity building has the ability to
encourage diversity, redistribute and share resources, welcome newcomers
and grow communities.
Community Development is launching this series to ensure we can hear
directly from volunteers who are interested in or who already are leading
capacity building work in their communities. This is one one way we plan to
create a space for direct conversations with volunteers about the different
contexts, challenges, and opportunities in capacity building across the
movement.
How do our projects relate to capacity building and leadership development?
Our team's portfolio is a curation of online and offline learning programs
and resources that aim to enable skill development and resilience in the
movement.
Some of our recent capacity building projects include the Wikilearn Online
Learning Pilot
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Community_Development/WikiLearn>, Board of
Trustees Candidate toolkit
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_elections/Candidate_Re…>and
the 2021 Wikimania Speaker Series
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Community_Development/What_we_do>.
In order for us to continue building relevant curricula and programming, we
need to hear from the Wikimedia movement. Please visit the Community
Development team page
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Community_Development> to learn more about
our capacity building and leadership development projects.
Key Dates:
-
First community call: February 23, 2022 from 15:00 - 16:00 UTC on Zoom
<https://wikimedia.zoom.us/j/84302371758?pwd=b1ZFNTMyaFdJRCtxbzIyaU13OWlmUT09>
-
Sign up
<https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdIiyAlq7uKBp4eqmnbyVr9Zmi3LBjCQgZ…>
to speak at the first community call. The application closes on February
February 14th, 2022.
To participate in the community call:
-
To attend the call, please find the link to the call her
<https://wikimedia.zoom.us/j/84302371758?pwd=b1ZFNTMyaFdJRCtxbzIyaU13OWlmUT09>
e.
-
Please ensure you have zoom downloaded on your personal devicer.
-
Use the sign up sheet to confirm your interest to speak about your work
in capacity building here
<https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdIiyAlq7uKBp4eqmnbyVr9Zmi3LBjCQgZ…>
We are excited to see and hear from you in our call next month!
Thank you,
Community Development team
Cassie Casares
Program Support Associate
Community Development
Wikimedia Foundation
ccasares(a)wikimedia.org
Hello, everyone.
I'm writing with information about the Ombuds Commission (OC), the small
group of volunteers who investigate complaints about violations of the
privacy policy, and in particular concerning the use of CheckUser and
Oversight tools, on any Wikimedia project for the Board of Trustees. I
apologize for the length of the announcement. :)
The application period for new commissioners for 2022 recently closed. The
Wikimedia Foundation is extremely grateful to the many experienced and
insightful volunteers who offered to assist with this work.
This year’s OC will consist of eight members, with a two-member advisory
team who will guide the new commission and also, if necessary, fill in in
the event that the OC is unable to act due to incapacity or recusal.
I am pleased to announce the composition of the 2022 OC:
Regular membersÉrico <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:%C3%89rico> <
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:%C3%89rico>
Érico has been editing Wikimedia projects since 2010. He edits primarily on
Portuguese Wikipedia, where he is a bureaucrat, checkuser, and
administrator, and Commons, where he is an administrator. He has, in the
past, also served as an oversighter and a global sysop. He has created
about 1,700 new articles and has made over 270,000 edits in several
projects. Érico can communicate in Portuguese and English. 2022 is Érico's
first year on the Ombuds Commission.
Faendalimas <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Faendalimas> <
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Faendalimas>
Scott Thomson, user:Faendalimas, has been editing Wikimedia projects since
2006. Based in Brazil, he is a taxonomist and evolutionary biologist and
his main editing interest is reptiles and amphibians. He is most active on
WikiSpecies, where he is a bureaucrat, Checkuser, and administrator.
Faendalimas speaks Portuguese and English. He has served on the Ombuds
Commission since 2021.
Galahad <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Galahad> <
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Galahad>
Carlos, currently editing as user:Galahad, has been contributing to
Wikimedia Projects since 2009. He is a member of Wikimedia Venezuela and a
founding member of Wikimedia Small Projects User Group. He primarily
contributes to Spanish-language projects including Spanish Wikipedia and
Spanish Wikivoyage. He has been an administrator and bureaucrat of Spanish
Wikivoyage since 2013. He speaks Spanish and English. He has served on the
Ombuds Commission since 2019.
Infinite0694 <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Infinite0694> <
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Infinite0694>
Infinite0694 has been contributing to Wikimedia projects since 2011. She
edits primarily on Japanese Wikipedia, where she is a bureaucrat,
administrator, Oversighter, and Checkuser, as well as on Meta, where she is
an administrator. Infinite0694 speaks Japanese, English, and German. This
is Infinite0694's first year on the Ombuds Commission.
Mykola7 <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Mykola7> <
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Mykola7>
Mykola7 has been contributing to Wikimedia projects since 2018. He is
primarily active on Ukranian Wikipedia, where he is an administrator and
Checkuser. He speaks Ukranian, Russian, and English. This is Mykola7's
first year on the Ombuds Commission.
Olugold <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Olugold> <
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Olugold>
Olugold has been contributing to Wikimedia projects since 2020. She is a
librarian and a member of the Igbo Wikimedia User Group. She edits
primarily on English Wikipedia, Wikidata, and Igbo Wikipedia. She speaks
English, Hausa, Igbo, and Nigerian Pidgin English. This is Olugold's first
year on the Ombuds Commission.
Udehb <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Udehb> <
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Udehb>
Udehb has been contributing to Wikimedia projects since 2018. He edits
primarily on Wikidata and is also active in the movement, including
organizing Wikidata Justice Nigeria
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikidata_Justice_Nigeria>. He is a member
of the Igbo Wikimedians User Group and serves as the IG-WIKIDATA-HUB
coordinator, of which he is the founder. Udehb speaks Igbo and English.
2022 is Udehb's first year on the Ombuds Commission.
Zabe <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Zabe> <
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Zabe>
Zabe has been contributing to Wikimedia projects since 2018. They primarily
edit Wikidata and Mediawiki, where they are an administrator. In addition,
Zabe works on the Mediawiki software. Zabe speaks German and English. 2022
is Zabe's first year on the Ombuds Commission.
Advisory membersAmeisenigel
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Ameisenigel> <
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Ameisenigel>
Ameisenigel has been editing Wikimedia projects since 2015. He is primarily
active on German Wikipedia, where he serves as an Arbitrator, and on
Wikidata, where he is an administrator. He is also active as a translation
admin in several projects. Ameisenigel speaks German and English. He has
been on the Ombuds Commission since 2021.
JJMC89 <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:JJMC89> <
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:JJMC89>
JJMC89 has been contributing to Wikimedia projects since 2015. He is
primarily active on the English Wikipedia, where he has more than 300,000
edits and is an administrator and bot operator, and Commons. He also serves
as a tool administrator on UTRS. He speaks English. He has been on the
Ombuds Commission since 2021.
Their willingness to remain, to bring their familiarity with processes and
their experience to the new arrivals, is greatly appreciated!
Please join me in thanking the following volunteers who are leaving OC, who
have given substantially of their time to serve the commission:
Acagastya <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Acagastya> <
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Acagastya>
Agastya has been editing Wikimedia projects since 2014, and is primarily
active on English Wikinews serving as an administrator and has been
accredited reporter since 2017. Agastya is also active on Commons, and
speaks English, Hindi and Gujarati.
AGK <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:AGK><
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:AGK>
AGK has been editing Wikimedia projects since 2008. He is primarily active
on English Wikipedia, where he is an administrator, Checkuser, and
Oversighter and has served as an Arbitrator. AGK has been a member of the
Ombuds Commission since 2020.
Ajraddatz <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Ajraddatz> <
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Ajraddatz>
Ajraddatz has been an active user on Wikimedia since 2010, and has served
in various roles of community trust in that time, including as a Wikidata
Oversighter since 2013, a steward between 2014 and 2020, and a Meta
CheckUser since 2015.
Emufarmers <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Emufarmers> <
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Emufarmers>
Emufarmers has been editing Wikimedia projects since 2005. He is a
Metapedian who primarily edits the English Wikipedia; he is also a
bureaucrat and sysop on MediaWiki.org, and has provided software support to
many third-party, non-Wikimedia wikis over the years. He has served as an
VRTS administrator since 2015. He has served on the Ombuds Commission since
2019.
Moheen <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Moheen> <
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Moheen>
Moheen Reeyad, user:Moheen, has been contributing to Wikimedia projects
since 2010. He is active on Commons, Bengali Wikipedia, Wikidata, and
English Wikipedia and is an administrator on Commons and Bengali Wikipedia.
He is currently a Board member of Wikimedia Bangladesh and lives in
Chattogram. Moheen speaks Bengali and English. He has served as an OC
member since 2021.
MrJaroslavik <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:MrJaroslavik> <
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:MrJaroslavik>
MrJaroslavik has been editing Wikimedia projects since 2017. He is
primarily active on Czech Wikipedia and Meta. MrJaroslavik speaks Czech and
English. He has served on the Ombuds Commission since 2021.
ProtoplasmaKid <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:ProtoplasmaKid> <
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:ProtoplasmaKid>
Ivan has been editing Wikimedia projects since 2006. He is primarily active
on Spanish Wikipedia and Spanish Wikinews and as an administrator on both
of those projects. He helped found Wikimedia Mexico in 2011 and was the
Wikimania 2015 Chief Coordinator. He has participated in a number of
movement committees, including Grant Advisory Committee. He speaks English,
Portuguese, and Spanish. He has served on the Ombuds Commission since 2021.
Superpes15 <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Superpes15> <
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Superpes15>
Superpes15 has been contributing to Wikimedia projects since 2010. He is
primarily active on Italian Wikipedia and is a member of the Small Wiki
Monitoring Team. He is an administrator on Italian Wikipedia and serves as
a global renamer. He speaks Italian and English. He has been an OC member
since 2021.
-Karen
--
Karen Brown
Trust & Safety Specialist
Wikimedia Foundation
kbrown(a)wikimedia.org