Hi, again.
I just realized I failed to answer one of the questions. I'm sorry; it's
rather late in my day, and I didn't mean to overlook it. In addition to
what was noted earlier, I believe it was 12 other users who were contacted
and asked to adjust their behavior to work within community policies,
especially regarding "canvassing" and good faith collaboration with other
users.
Best,
Maggie
On Mon, Sep 13, 2021 at 6:21 PM Maggie Dennis <mdennis(a)wikimedia.org>
wrote:
Hello, all.
First, our apologies for the translation. We had hoped to provide this
service to make it easier for our Chinese language communities, but clearly
it didn't work out as we had hoped. I'm enormously grateful to say that a
Chinese translation is now available on Meta:
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Office_actions/September_2021_statement/zh
<3 We are actively seeking to increase our capacity in Chinese and several
other languages, and I hope some people will apply!
https://boards.greenhouse.io/wikimedia/jobs/3374682?gh_src=b62d5dae1us
With respect to the NDA policy change, this was indeed very obliquely
addressed on September 1st here
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Talk:Access_to_nonpublic_personal_data_policy#Answers_to_some_questions_around_policy_change>,[1]
at which point we felt the need to be very oblique in our response because
we were still actively attempting to communicate with all users impacted.
We knew, of course, that experienced Wikimedians would be able to connect
the dots but were hoping to avoid attracting external attention by bad
actors that might put some of these people in danger. Not being a lawyer,
I'm still a little nervous about saying the wrong thing (my teams were more
involved in implementing than directing that policy change), but it's
probably obvious to everyone by now that you have correctly named the
immediate jurisdictions of concern.
I do want to say, though, that the policy was written to address a
challenge which is likely to be ongoing: we are not just in danger of
infiltration, but of attack through the extortion or potentially
persecution of publicly identifiable people with access to personal
information. The intention is not to shut down access to everyone in every
such jurisdiction who has ever blocked Wikimedia sites, but to flag for the
Foundation's legal department the need to review in such cases. Because of
that, depending on the current risks of which we are aware, the list of
impacted jurisdictions may change. I would hope that people will not
hesitate to apply; rejection of a signed NDA in such cases is by no means a
personal judgment and may be a step taken to protect not only our
communities, but those users themselves and those they love.
Best,
Maggie
[1]
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Talk:Access_to_nonpublic_personal_data_poli…
On Mon, Sep 13, 2021 at 5:43 PM effe iets anders <
effeietsanders(a)gmail.com> wrote:
> Thank you Maggie, for the announcement. It's a sad day, and I'm sure
> there were many sad actions that resulted in this.
>
> Two questions from my end:
> * Could you commit to making a better translation available (through
> community processes or otherwise) for the record? I think this decision may
> be referred to quite a bit in the future, so it's valuable to have an
> accurate translation available to the Chinese community.
> * What countries are affected currently by the NDA decision
>
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Confidentiality_agreement_for_nonpublic_information&diff=prev&oldid=21925066&diffmode=source>?
> It is suggested that China and Iran are, but I can't find an authoritative
> list (but may be looking at the wrong place). This would be helpful for
> volunteers from countries that are wondering if they should even bother to
> apply for positions. The definition "blocked access" is a bit fluid.
I'm
> assuming here that the fact that a country is on this list, is not a secret
> in itself.
>
> Best,
> Lodewijk
>
> On Mon, Sep 13, 2021 at 11:06 AM William Chan <william(a)wchan.hk>
> wrote:
>
>> Hi Leo,
>>
>> I think that this is a Google Translation product. But yes, it is in
>> such bad shape where even Chinese natives can barely read. But I
>> acknowledge the fact that the urgency and secrecy of the matter made
>> consulting external parties, to the extent, even contractors working for
>> WMF, impossible.
>>
>> To Maggie,
>>
>> May I ask if there is a certain number for the amount of users linked
>> with the unrecognized user group being warned? There is no request for the
>> list of users, just the number would be fine. The Wikipedia communities in
>> Hong Kong need to access the total damage dealt to the user group who had
>> persistently engaged in activities harassing the safety of Hong Kong Users.
>>
>> Regards,
>> William Chan
>>
>>
>> On Tue, 14 Sept 2021 at 01:58, Leo Z <leo(a)asianmonth.wiki> wrote:
>>
>>> Hi Maggie,
>>>
>>> Thanks for the prompt response. I do not know who those ‘native
>>> speakers’ are, perhaps that’s just a way to avoid providing language
>>> proficiency certificate. I do not know. Google translation might even do
>>> better.
>>>
>>> I am more than certain that this translation is not just faulty or
>>> unsatisfactory, but terrible if not horrifying, disastrous, or outright
>>> shocking for an acclaimed international organization. The issue for this
>>> specific translation is not with 'movement-specific' terms, but a
>>> significant lack of elementary understanding regarding the fundamental
>>> grammatical structure of the Chinese language. I will refrain from listing
>>> specific examples here (there are plenty), but those mistakes are
>>> hilarious, if not outright absurd. Whoever translated this text might
>>> barely pass an AP Chinese exam.
>>>
>>> Please consult a professor in Chinese language at Berkeley or CCSF
>>> or even just a language school, or perhaps consult someone from ChinaSF,
>>> maybe even a Chinese speaking professional from HSBC or wherever. There are
>>> plenty, if you feel it’s necessary. I’m more than certain they will offer
>>> similar opinions.
>>>
>>> Sincere hope for a better translation,
>>> Leo
>>> On Sep 14, 2021, 1:17 AM +0800, Maggie Dennis <mdennis(a)wikimedia.org>rg>,
>>> wrote:
>>>
>>> Hello, all.
>>>
>>> A few responses.
>>>
>>> First, Nathan and William, we will share as much information as we
>>> can, but will need to be careful about what we say about the individuals
>>> involved for legal and safety reasons. This is indeed related to increasing
>>> resilience across Wikipedias and not at all specifically for ZhWP. I do
>>> think it's important for us to offer some additional support there,
given
>>> the current situation, but we are looking at increasing safety everywhere.
>>>
>>> Leo, thank you for your feedback on the translation, which was
>>> provided by native Chinese speakers. Since I myself am completely unable to
>>> read Chinese, I don't know the nature of the issue, but I do know that
in
>>> the past we have had some issues with movement-specific terms being
>>> translated. I recall once when "free in speech" was mistranslated
as "free
>>> as in beer" - which we always deliberately try to avoid. :)
>>>
>>> Best,
>>> Maggie
>>>
>>> On Mon, Sep 13, 2021 at 12:45 PM Nathan <nawrich(a)gmail.com> wrote:
>>>
>>>> Maggie,
>>>>
>>>> Thank you for taking these very difficult actions to protect both
>>>> the members of our community as well as the values that it seeks to
uphold.
>>>> I also appreciate the degree of transparency provided and hope that more
>>>> information will be disclosed as it is appropriate. I imagine questions
>>>> will be asked about how these individual accounts were selected for
office
>>>> actions and the contours of the risk both to the individuals behind
these
>>>> accounts and the wider community. Any information that the WMF is able
to
>>>> safely share will help all of us understand better what the threats are
and
>>>> how we may better support the movement's goals in jurisdictions where
our
>>>> values are not respected.
>>>>
>>>> Thank you again,
>>>> Nathan
>>>> _______________________________________________
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>>>>
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>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> --
>>> Maggie Dennis
>>> She/her/hers
>>> Vice President, Community Resilience & Sustainability
>>> Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.
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>>
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--
Maggie Dennis
She/her/hers
Vice President, Community Resilience & Sustainability
Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.
--
Maggie Dennis
She/her/hers
Vice President, Community Resilience & Sustainability
Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.