Hoi,
Please read carefully. I do point out that there is an existential
threat to "Wikipedia", I do point out that we need fundraising to stay
independent.
I do point out that the fundraising message is on point.
Thanks,
GerardM
On Sat, 25 Sept 2021 at 09:12, Vi to <vituzzu.wiki(a)gmail.com> wrote:
Once again this is not what the fundraising
messages point out.
This is just a quite shareable list of top priorities in your opinion.
Vito
Il giorno sab 25 set 2021 alle ore 09:00 Gerard Meijssen <
gerard.meijssen(a)gmail.com> ha scritto:
> Hoi,
> I presented two existential threats to our ecosystem. We have a
> technical debt in the legacy software we use for our functionality. The
> engine for Wikidata is not likely to survive, it desperately needs
> replacement. When the question is: are we in dire straights, yes we are. Is
> this about fundraising, hell yes. Do fundraisers require a compelling
> message, they do. I remind you of this "branding" issue. We are raising
> money for Wikimedia.
>
> The notion of a budget is to fulfill ambitions. We have gone over the
> message, let's talk about the mission. It is about "sharing the sum of all
> knowledge". Opening up Commons in a Wiki way to nine year old children
> worldwide is easy, we already have the software and it will cost money
> to implement properly. It needs an integral implementation that fits our
> infrastructure. There are other examples that demonstrate that we do not
> even "share the knowledge available to us". Increasing a budget to fulfil
> ambitions is what you do to get things done. Fundraising is what we do to
> pay the cost of enabling the fulfilment of what is budgeted.
>
> The Wikimedia Foundation has the best platform to raise funds. Much
> more is possible. We can easily get more institutional money. However, it
> is well known that the WMF retains its independence by keeping a balance
> between public and institutional funding. Therefore the fundraising is
> essential for "Wikipedia" to retain its independence.
>
> What I point out is not new, it should be well known. To me your point
> of view is bizarre. It is only about appearances and numbers without a
> context in what we do
> Thanks,
> GerardM
>
> On Fri, 24 Sept 2021 at 16:26, Andreas Kolbe <jayen466(a)gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
>> Gerard,
>>
>> Do you think the banners *have* to paint a mental picture of
>> Wikipedia being in dire financial straits for people to donate? With
>> wordings like "We need you to make a donation this Friday so that we can
>> continue to protect Wikipedia's independence"?
>>
>> Isn't it pretty bizarre to portray your financial situation in this
>> way, when you're planning to increase your expenses by 40% from one year to
>> the next, and are literally taking 10 times more money from the public per
>> annum than you did ten years ago?
>>
>> It's not about the money per se – there are surely few people and
>> organisations who would say that they couldn't do with some more money than
>> the amount they have – but about whether you give the public and
>> prospective donors a more or less accurate impression of your financial
>> situation and your spending intentions.
>>
>> Do you think the current fundraising banners do that?
>>
>> Andreas
>>
>> On Fri, Sep 24, 2021 at 2:50 PM Gerard Meijssen <
>> gerard.meijssen(a)gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>>> Hoi,
>>> No it is not. When we do not find a solution for the technical
>>> issues for Wikidata it will crash and burn..
>>>
>>> The ferocity that some people display about the WMF fundraising
>>> astounds me. We are operating one of the biggest websites in the world, it
>>> is hugely problematic in that its bias for English prevents us from
>>> providing a service that is of the same quality for everyone. The legacy
>>> that exists in our code and the rising expectations are obvious signs that
>>> we are under investing, not over investing. There is a limit to the growth
>>> of our organisation as such I applaud the WMF even though it could and
>>> should be so much better.
>>>
>>> On Fri, 24 Sept 2021 at 15:25, Vi to <vituzzu.wiki(a)gmail.com> wrote:
>>>
>>>> This is exactly the previously mentioned idea of "collect money,
>>>> then we will find a way to spend it".
>>>> Instead, we should be honest with donors and volunteers, the
>>>> urgency portrayed by banners is not true, there's no risk of closing
our
>>>> projects.
>>>>
>>>> *Assumes that there is only one project* is true, but in terms of
>>>> current fundraising communication.
>>>>
>>>> Vito
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Il giorno ven 24 set 2021 alle ore 14:50 Gerard Meijssen <
>>>> gerard.meijssen(a)gmail.com> ha scritto:
>>>>
>>>>> Hoi,
>>>>> There are some people who repeatedly argue that we raise way too
>>>>> much money. Given a set of assumptions an argument can be constructed
to
>>>>> make this point. In my opinion there is little merit to the argument.
We do
>>>>> need money to operate the Wikimedia projects and a positive outcome
per
>>>>> year enables us to do more.the next year. I have some ideas about
raising
>>>>> money and raising expectations.
>>>>>
>>>>> - We want to raise less money in the Anglo-Saxon world. When
>>>>> people donate money everywhere they too will gain a sense of
ownership.
>>>>> This sense of ownership is to be distributed more equally around
the globe
>>>>> - With our projects owned more equitably around the globe, the
>>>>> notion that "any child of nine year old can find pictures in
Commons" is
>>>>> reasonable and self-evident; the world pays for results that
>>>>> are globally relevant ..
>>>>> - We need a delivery manager, his/her task is to research and
>>>>> define what it is our projects deliver to their public. The
objective is to
>>>>> increase both quantity and quality of what is delivered by a
project and
>>>>> discuss with project communities what it is that can be done to
improve the
>>>>> service to its public. Commons does provide material to Wikipedia,
that is
>>>>> good but not enough.
>>>>>
>>>>> Both the Wikimedia Foundation and the Internet Archive have
>>>>> projects to document all scientific papers / output. The Internet
Archive
>>>>> provides an important service to the Wikimedia Foundation and we can
>>>>> integrate the two projects, reduce costs and have the WMF pay the IA
for
>>>>> its services. Closer ties with the Internet Archive provide many
other
>>>>> benefits. One of these benefits is that we can bring the Wikipedia
>>>>> references into a modern age.
>>>>>
>>>>> For Wikidata there is a technical limit in what we can achieve on
>>>>> the current platform. Because of Wikidata the WMF is a very big fish
in the
>>>>> data pond. We need to (imho) pick up the challenge and develop our
own
>>>>> software. This will cost significantly and it demonstrates that we
accept
>>>>> that Free software is not Free as in Beer. With the IA as a partner,
we may
>>>>> find a partner in this endeavour.
>>>>>
>>>>> The notion that we raise too much money, the notion that there is
>>>>> no urgency is a fallacy. It is all too easy to identify how our
service is
>>>>> lacking and where we can improve our service. The arguments why the
WMF
>>>>> raises too much money assumes that there is only one project, their
project
>>>>> and they consider that its status quo suffices. The question is,
sufficient
>>>>> for who,for what and for how long.
>>>>> Thanks,
>>>>> GerardM
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