Thanks to both Lydia and Denny for these further replies. I assume that the WMF has a clear stable and unified view of where it is taking its various products and the dependencies, which is what I understand by the phrase product roadmap. "A single document" would be nice, but whatever it is, I am asking for it to be shared with the community.
"Rogol"
On Tue, Jan 10, 2017 at 6:12 PM, Denny Vrandečić vrandecic@gmail.com wrote:
Hi Rogol,
that is why I pointed you to the links in that document, which go all the way back to 2004 discussions of such a project, and further discussions over the years. These pretty much establish for me that this item has been a topic for commons for more than a decade now. But it seems I am misunderstanding you, and you are not looking for a documentation of the shared understanding of the roadmap for Commons and other Wikimedia products, but for a singular Foundation-written document that fixes the Wikimedia product roadmap over several years instead?
Cheers, Denny
On Tue, Jan 10, 2017 at 10:00 AM Rogol Domedonfors domedonfors@gmail.com wrote:
Denny
Thank you but the link you provide appears to be to be "Our high-level roadmap for developing the project", namely the Structured Data in
Commons
project. Since Lisa wrote "Structured Data on Commons was in our product roadmap" I was referring to the product roadmap on which the Structured Data in Commons project is included -- that is, I was asking for a
pointer
to the roadmap for "features both on the Wikidata development roadmap,
and
in other products supported by the Wikimedia Foundation" referred to in
Wes
Moran's initial post on this topic:
But I appreciate the speed of your reply.
"Rogol"
On Tue, Jan 10, 2017 at 5:46 PM, Denny Vrandečić vrandecic@gmail.com wrote:
Rogol,
this was the link previously provided on this project: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Commons:Structured_data/Overview including links to previous documents.
Cheers, Denny
On Tue, Jan 10, 2017 at 9:32 AM Rogol Domedonfors <
domedonfors@gmail.com
wrote:
Lisa
You say that "Structured Data on Commons was in our product roadmap,
so
this grant is not diverting our attention. The grant simply enables
us
to
accelerate the work we were planning to do". Please would you
publish,
or
point to, a version of that product roadmap that can inform the
community's
participation in such planning exercises as the 2017 Wikimedia
Movement
Strategy and other more tactical product planning processes.
Thanks in advance "Rogol"
On Mon, Jan 9, 2017 at 11:01 PM, Lisa Gruwell <
lgruwell@wikimedia.org>
wrote:
Hi Pete and Gerard-
I just wanted to give my thoughts on restricted gifts. Like most
things,
there are both good and bad restricted gifts. They can be bad if a
funder
is making a well-intentioned gift that none-the-less pulls the
organization
in direction that they were not planning to go. Or even worse,
when
a
funder pays for something outside of an org's plans that has
ongoing
maintenance cost that are not covered in the grant.
This is why the WMF board reviews all restricted grants per our
gift
policy
https://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Gift_policy. Those are the
types
of dynamics that the board considers when they review a restricted
grant.
Structured Data on Commons was in our product roadmap, so this
grant
is
not
diverting our attention. The grant simply enables us to accelerate
the
work we were planning to do. In terms of restrictions, we have to
follow
through with the plan we submitted. In other words, do what we
said
we
are
going to do. I think that accountability is a good thing. And the
Sloan
Foundation is a great long-term funder of WMF. If something
changes
as
the
work progress, I have no doubt we could have a reasonable
conversation
with
them about adjusting the plan.
Best, Lisa
On Mon, Jan 9, 2017 at 1:03 PM, Gerard Meijssen <
gerard.meijssen@gmail.com
wrote:
Hoi, Maybe restricted but the subject matter is exactly what we want
anyway.
Where I have my reservations is that Wikidata will be set in
stone
and
stuff that just is not right will be with us for forever. With
more
money
it does not need to be a huge problem because it makes it more
manageable.
Thanks, GerardM
On 9 January 2017 at 21:52, Pete Forsyth peteforsyth@gmail.com
wrote:
> Structured data on Commons is a huge and important area -- for
one
thing,
> the whole Media Viewer project would have gone much more
smoothly
if
there > were underlying structured data to rely on. Kudos to WMF and
Sloan
for
the > focus on this issue! > > If I'm not mistaken, this is by far the most extravagant
restricted
grant
> in the history of the WMF. I believe the Stanton Foundation's
usability
> grant ($890k in 2008)[1] and Public Policy Initiative grant
($1.2
million
> in 2010)[2] are the only ones that comes close. In the past,
WMF
board
> members have expressed great skepticism about -- specifically
--
the
Sloan > Foundation's influence, when it sought to place an observer in
WMF
board
> meetings. A former WMF Executive Director has written at length
about
the
> dangers of restricted grants. > > It appears there is a new theory in play around restricted
grants.
Will
> somebody be expressing it publicly? Will the past practice of
publishing
> the details of the grant expectations be followed?[3] > > -Pete > -- > [[User:Peteforsyth]] > > [1] https://blog.wikimedia.org/2008/12/03/improved-usability- > in-our-future/ > [2] > https://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Press_releases/May_ > 2010_Wikimedia_Foundation_will_engage_academic_experts_ > and_students_to_improve_public_policy_information > [3] > https://outreach.wikimedia.org/wiki/Public_Policy_ > Initiative_project_details > > On Mon, Jan 9, 2017 at 11:48 AM, Wes Moran <
wmoran@wikimedia.org
wrote:
> > > Hello Wikimedia community, > > > > It’s our delight to inform you that we received a
US$3,015,000
grant
from > > the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation > > https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_P._Sloan_Foundation
[1]
to
> expedite > > development of structured data on Commons. The grant will be
given
over
> the > > course of three years, and will allow us to develop a team,
in
> > collaboration with the Wikidata team at Wikimedia
Deutschland,
that
can
> > focus on integrating the structured data features of Wikidata
into
> > describing the media files on Commons. > > > > This work will allow us to expedite features both on the
Wikidata
> > development roadmap, and in other products supported by the
Wikimedia
> > Foundation. The grant also provides funding to ensure that
movement
> > stakeholders, like Wiki Loves Monuments and GLAM-Wiki program
leaders,
> and > > external partners who contribute heavily to Commons, such as
GLAMs,
can
> be > > involved in the development. > > > > We have drafted a high level overview of the grant and its
scope,
> available > > on Commons > > https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Commons:Structured_ data/Sloan_Grant > > [2]. A blog post about the grant is also available on the
Wikimedia
blog > > https://blog.wikimedia.org/2017/01/09/sloan-foundation- structured-data > > [3]. > > > > We are currently in the process of identifying the technical
lead
for
the > > project. If you have questions, Alex Stinson, the
Foundation’s
GLAM-Wiki > > strategist, will be leading the community engagement and
communications
> for > > the project until we hire a community liaison as part of the
grant.
Stay > > tuned for more details about the project in the coming
months.
> > > > We’re excited to be able to support this project, and look
forward
to
> your > > participation in its development. > > > > Thank you, > > > > Wes Moran and Maggie Dennis > > > > *Wes Moran, Vice President of Product* > > *Maggie Dennis, Interim Chief of Community Engagement * > > *Wikimedia Foundation* > > > > [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_P._Sloan_Foundation > > [2]
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Commons:Structured_data/
> Sloan_Grant > > [3] https://blog.wikimedia.org/2017/01/09/sloan-foundation- > structured-data > > _______________________________________________ > > Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at:
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