Thanks for sharing the diff, Pavan.
Here are a few observations from our experience of working with probably over a thousand new Wikimedians over the past five years, the majority of whom are mobile phone users
Our audience consists of 16-17-year-old high school students. Every year, the most frequently asked question is whether they can work for the Wikimedia movement using a mobile phone. While we respond positively, we do so with some hesitation.
The Wikipedia Adventure (TWA) is a mandatory assignment for our Wikimedia bootcamp participants each year, as it saves us a considerable amount of work. TWA is not designed for mobile phones, so we suggest participants use the desktop web version from their browsers (TWA was even down during our 2024 edition of the bootcamp). Unfortunately, the small mobile phone screens make it difficult for the desktop version to fit properly, leading to challenges like accurately tapping on specific tool icons, which often results in unintentional bad edits during the bootcamp. We don't suggest the mobile app since very few features are available there.
The participants are just high schoolers and often have to depend on their parents for digital devices. Parents either don't allow them to use a laptop or desktop considering their age, or the families simply can't afford one; the socio-economic context plays a big role here. As a result, mobile phones are the most accessible device for them. Contributing to any Wikimedia project via mobile phone, even using the desktop view, is very challenging. This is one of the major reasons for the low retention rate of our bootcamps. When participants who use mobile phones find that contributing to Wikimedia is complex and time-consuming, it feels like a waste of their time and effort. This is especially problematic given that they have homework, assignments, labs, and exams every week, making it difficult to carve out time for Wikimedia contributions.
I agree with what you said in your diff:
It’s not just about providing alternative means of access; it’s about making sure that the primary mode of access for a majority of users—mobile devices—is as user-friendly and intuitive as possible.
But while working as organizers of such large-scale outreach projects, we neither have the capacity to provide participants with alternatives nor can we make the Wikimedia ecosystem mobile-friendly for them. We are trying to convince a few tech startups in the country to donate some devices, as they produce affordable Linux PCs in the price range of mobile phones (around 50 - 100 USD). Convincing them is tough since we don't have anything to offer them in exchange. We are unable to buy these devices for our contributors because we can't receive grants from Bangladesh. Managing a few PCs for the participants is merely a bandaid solution rather than a sustainable fix, but it's the least we can do for now.
Beyond direct on-wiki editing, there are other indirect bottlenecks too. I lead
Project Korikath and
Project Shoili. Project Korikath works to bring media files related to local topics to Wikimedia Commons. We have to edit hundreds, sometimes over a thousand images after every
photowalk, which is completely impossible without a PC, our volunteers take help from their friends who have PCs. If you look at
this cinematography produced by Project Korikath, you'll see that the color grading has been messed up because we were using an old cheap monitor that didn't display proper colors.
Project Shoili helps Wikimedia communities from all over the world with graphic design. Here, PCs are essential for our contributors. We voluntarily design logos, posters, and even brand entire Wikimedia events for any wikimedia group
that requests it. We can't create complex illustrations or 3D models because they crash the PCs of our contributors. Having access to a standard device impacts Wikimedians' capacity both directly and indirectly, and we currently don't have a feasible solution to address this issue.
Best,
Rafi