Hi Pine,
On Fri, Jun 1, 2018 at 4:31 AM, Pine W wiki.pine@gmail.com wrote:
This sounds like another good question for Nicole.
Indeed, but she might be busy or in vacation. If she doesn't get involved into this conversation in the next days I will open a new thread about it.
- There are a number of people who are working on facilitating and
improving the experience for new editors.
That is very nice, and it should happen (including the project you are working on which seems very useful). Additionally to the experience of new editors, one should consider the experience of old editors, because that also reflects on the health of the community and the work atmosphere created by them, which in the end also affects new editors. It's not the same to work in an environment that is hostile and unfriendly, that in an environment where people listen to each other, and try to find common ground. As said before (I think), I believe this transformation has to happen from initiative of the volunteers themselves. The WMF can help with tools, employees, and resources if they are willing to, but if the volunteers do not commit to change, nothing will be achieved.
- I am very interested in non-WMF funding for affiliate and community
projects.
You indeed make a good point about non-WMF funding. It's true that you are very outspoken and I value what you do for the spirit of the community. I think that is a value we should nurture in everybody, specially in volunteers who accept donations, and that there should be a way for the donations to flow directly to volunteers or to projects without passing through the hands of the WMF. I do not know what would be the best approach to materialize this in practice, either by using an external platform (like Patreon) or building our own. However, it should be taken into account that at the moment the main source of exposure, which are donation banners to collect community money, are administered by the WMF, so that limits the capacity to find donors for individuals or small organizations.
If you or others would be interested, perhaps we could have a video-conference meeting at some point regarding ideas for non-WMF funding sources.
Excellent idea! I'll send you a private message with my availability/time zone and when we find a suitable moment, maybe we could invite others to join too. (If someone feels that they need to be in this conversation, please do express your interest to me and I will take your request into consideration when selecting a date)
Regards, Micru