Dear Wikimedia Community,
The Community Affairs Committee (CAC) [1] of the Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees assigned the Sister Projects Task Force (SPTF)[2] to update and implement a procedure for assessing the lifecycle of Sister Projects — wiki projects supported by Wikimedia Foundation (WMF)[3].
A vision of relevant, accessible, and impactful free knowledge has always guided the Wikimedia Movement. As the ecosystem of Wikimedia projects continues to evolve, it is crucial that we periodically review existing projects to ensure they still align with our goals and community capacity.
Despite their noble intent, some projects may no longer effectively serve their original purpose. Reviewing such projects is not about giving up—it’s about responsible stewardship of shared resources. Volunteer time, staff support, infrastructure, and community attention are finite, and the non-technical costs tend to grow significantly as our ecosystem has entered a different age of the internet than the one we were founded in. Supporting inactive projects or projects that didn’t meet our ambitions can unintentionally divert these resources from areas with more potential impact.
Moreover, maintaining projects that no longer reflect the quality and reliability of the Wikimedia name stands for, involves a reputational risk. An abandoned or less reliable project affects trust in the Wikimedia movement.
Lastly, failing to sunset or reimagine projects that are no longer working can make it much harder to start new ones. When the community feels bound to every past decision—no matter how outdated—we risk stagnation. A healthy ecosystem must allow for evolution, adaptation, and, when necessary, letting go. If we create the expectation that every project must exist indefinitely, we limit our ability to experiment and innovate.
Because of this, SPTF reviewed two requests concerning the lifecycle of the Sister Projects to work through and demonstrate the review process. We chose Wikispore as a case study for a possible new Sister Project opening and Wikinews as a case study for a review of an existing project. Preliminary findings were discussed with the CAC, and a community consultation on both proposals was recommended. == Wikispore ==
The application to consider Wikispore as a new Sister Project was submitted in 2019 [4]. SPTF decided to review this request in more depth because, rather than being concentrated on a specific topic, as most of the proposals for the new Sister Projects are, Wikispore has the potential to nurture multiple start-up Sister Projects.
After careful consideration [5], the SPTF has decided not to recommend Wikispore as a Wikimedia Sister Project. Considering the current activity level, the current arrangement allows better flexibility and experimentation while WMF provides core infrastructural support.
We acknowledge the initiative's potential and seek community input on what would constitute a sufficient level of activity and engagement to reconsider its status in the future.
As part of the process, we shared the decision with the Wikispore community and invited one of its leaders, Pharos, to an SPTF meeting.
Currently, we especially invite feedback on measurable criteria indicating the project's readiness, such as contributor numbers, content volume, and sustained community support. This would clarify the criteria sufficient for opening a new Sister Project, including possible future Wikispore re-application. However, the numbers will always be a guide because any number can be gamed.
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Public_consultation_about_Wikispore == Wikinews ==
We chose to review Wikinews among existing Sister Projects because it is the one for which we have observed the highest level of concern in multiple ways.
Since the SPTF was convened in 2023, its members have asked for the community's opinions during conferences and community calls about Sister Projects that did not fulfil their promise in the Wikimedia movement [7, 8, 9]. Wikinews was the leading candidate for an evaluation because people from multiple language communities proposed it. Additionally, by most measures, it is the least active Sister Project, with the greatest drop in activity over the years.
While the Language Committee routinely opens and closes language versions of the Sister Projects in small languages, there has never been a valid proposal to close Wikipedia in major languages or any project in English. This is not true for Wikinews, where there was a proposal to close English Wikinews, which gained some traction but did not result in any action [6; see also Section 5 from 9], as well as a draft proposal to close all languages of Wikinews (see on the relevant meta discussion page).
Initial metrics compiled by WMF staff also support the community's concerns about Wikinews (see on the relevant meta discussion page).
Based on this report, SPTF recommends a community reevaluation of Wikinews. We conclude that its current structure and activity levels are the lowest among the existing sister projects. SPTF also recommends pausing the opening of new language editions while the consultation runs.
SPTF brings this analysis to a discussion and welcomes discussions of alternative outcomes, including potential restructuring efforts or integration with other Wikimedia initiatives.
Options mentioned so far (which might be applied to just low-activity languages or all languages) include but are not limited to: *Restructure how Wikinews works and is linked to other current events efforts on the projects, *Merge content of Wikinews into the relevant language Wikipedias, possibly in a new namespace, *Merge content into compartibly licensed external projects, *Archive Wikinews projects.
Your insights and perspectives are invaluable in shaping the future of these projects. We encourage all interested community members to share their thoughts on the relevant discussion pages or through other designated feedback channels.
Public consultation about Wikinews - Meta https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Public_consultation_about_Wikinews == Feedback and next steps ==
We’d be grateful if you want to take part in a conversation on the future of these projects and the review process. We are setting up two different project pages: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Public_consultation_about_Wikispore and Public consultation about Wikinews - Meta https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Public_consultation_about_Wikinews. Please participate between 27/06/25 and 27/07/25, after which we will summarize the discussion to move forward. You can write in your own language.
I will also host a community conversation 16th July Wednesday 11.00 UTC and 17th July Thursday 17.00 UTC (I'll send the call links later) and will be around at Wikimania for more discussions - unfortunately, SPTF application for a workshop was rejected, but I'll try to set a meetup.
Kind regards, Victoria
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1) Wikimedia Foundation Community Affairs Committee - Meta https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_Community_Affairs_Committee
2) Wikimedia Foundation Community Affairs Committee/Sister Projects Task Force - Meta https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_Community_Affairs_Committee/Sister_Projects_Task_Force
3) Wikimedia projects - Meta https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_projects4) Wikispore - Meta https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikispore
5) WikiSpore - Google Docs https://docs.google.com/document/d/1foUeLwY6Y7SSXchrbt9F4or6x-gP5Phcgwag87mtxqQ/edit?tab=t.0
6) Proposals for closing projects/Closure of English Wikinews - Meta https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Proposals_for_closing_projects/Closure_of_English_Wikinews
7) https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:WCNA_2024._Sister_Projects_-_opening...
8) https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_Community_Affairs_Commi...
9) https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/WikiConvention_francophone/2024/Programme/Qu...
10) https://docs.google.com/document/d/1yxf7dZOZDG5ZblADi3872UvnLQXd1fX63pGS354F...