Our IT manager, Rob Halsell, came over to San Francisco this weekend to set up the phones in the new Wikimedia Foundation offices. We're switching to an open source telephony solution based on Asterisk. Obviously, every phone system needs "on hold" music.
So far, we are using "The RfA Candidate's Song" by User:Bucketsofg. If you want to shoot to international fame by having your own Wikipedia-related song used while people are waiting for someone to answer their call, this is your chance. ;-)
Feel free to add new free content songs to: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Song
(Meta would also be a good place to organize this.)
And no, this post is not indicative of our current priorities. :-) Things have been quite hectic and busy as we're setting up and starting to use our new space. We'll continue to update http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation/offices with pictures, and a detailed report of recent Foundation activities will be forthcoming shortly.
On 28/01/2008, Erik Moeller erik@wikimedia.org wrote:
So far, we are using "The RfA Candidate's Song" by User:Bucketsofg. If you want to shoot to international fame by having your own Wikipedia-related song used while people are waiting for someone to answer their call, this is your chance. ;-) Feel free to add new free content songs to: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Song
None based on "Still Alive"? I'm appalled!
- d.
On 28/01/2008, David Gerard dgerard@gmail.com wrote:
On 28/01/2008, Erik Moeller erik@wikimedia.org wrote:
Feel free to add new free content songs to: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Song
None based on "Still Alive"? I'm appalled!
This was a triumph. I'm making a note here: HUGE SUCCESS. It's hard to overstate my satisfaction Wikipedia Review We do what we must because we can For the good of all of us Except the ones who are banned But there's no sense crying over every quick block You just keep on saving till the database's locked And the editing is stopped A Squid failure notice up For the people who are still unbanned
I'm not even angry. I'm being so sincere right now. Even though you blocked my ass And banned me And blocked my whole college And set the IT staff on my ass As they kicked me out I cried, I was so happy for you! Now I've found your IP and your home phone on time And I found your employer and I'll drop them a line So I'm glad I got blocked And the database is locked for the people who are still unbanned
Go ahead and leave me I'll stay on the Wikback for a while maybe I'll find somewhere else to edit maybe Citizendium ... THAT WAS A JOKE, HA HA, FAT CHANCE. Anyway, these edits grate They're so delicious and moist look at me still talking when there's editing to do when I look out there it makes me glad I'm not you I've experiments to run there is research to be done on the people who are still unbanned
and believe me I am still unbanned I'm adding edits and I'm still unbanned when AOL's blocked and I'm still unbanned when Qatar's blocked I'll be still unbanned and when the world's blocked I'll be still unbanned still unbanned still unbanned
(anyone who wants to fix the scansion, feel free)
- d.
On 2008.01.28 20:57:40 +0000, David Gerard dgerard@gmail.com scribbled 1.7K characters:
On 28/01/2008, David Gerard dgerard@gmail.com wrote:
On 28/01/2008, Erik Moeller erik@wikimedia.org wrote:
Feel free to add new free content songs to: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Song
None based on "Still Alive"? I'm appalled!
This was a triumph. I'm making a note here: HUGE SUCCESS. It's hard to overstate my satisfaction Wikipedia Review
Doesn't quite scan - Wikipedia is 5 syllables, Review 2 for 7, while Aperture is 3 and Science is 2. Maybe "'Pedia Review"?
We do what we must because we can For the good of all of us
'lulz' seems appropriate here. :)
Except the ones who are banned But there's no sense crying over every quick block You just keep on saving till the data base's locked
- till you run out of cake.
Maybe, 'till the page is locked'? Same syllable count, same distribution, and makes more sense for edit-warring anyway.
And the editing is stopped A Squid failure notice up For the people who are still unbanned
I'm not even angry. I'm being so sincere right now. Even though you blocked my ass And banned me And blocked my whole college And set the IT staff on my ass
Eh. One too many 'ass' here. 'set the IT staff on my track'?
As they kicked me out I cried, I was so happy for you! Now I've found your IP and your home phone on time And I found your employer and I'll drop them a line So I'm glad I got blocked And the database is locked
As per previous, maybe pages instead.
for the people who are still unbanned
Go ahead and leave me I'll stay on the Wikback for a while maybe I'll find somewhere else to edit maybe Citizendium ...
'Black Mesa', 3, 'Wikia', 3. Seems like a worthwhile substitution to me.
THAT WAS A JOKE, HA HA, FAT CHANCE. Anyway, these edits grate
? 'are great'?
They're so delicious and moist look at me still talking when there's editing to do when I look out there it makes me glad I'm not you I've experiments to run
I don't know why, but I really want to change this line to "I've got admin bots to run". :)
there is research to be done on the people who are still unbanned
and believe me I am still unbanned I'm adding edits and I'm still unbanned when AOL's blocked and I'm still unbanned
How about 'Congress'? 2 syllables.
when Qatar's blocked I'll be still unbanned and when the world's blocked I'll be still unbanned still unbanned
(anyone who wants to fix the scansion, feel free)
- d.
-- gwern CCSS SEAL csystems rb SADRS JTF Firewalls Colonel VOA STEEPLEBUSH
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:WMF_Office%2C_day_2_003.jpg
its nice to see rob and brion have the essential tool for computers :-)
(if you cant see it check on the table next to the screen :-)
mark
On Jan 28, 2008 3:02 AM, Erik Moeller erik@wikimedia.org wrote:
Our IT manager, Rob Halsell, came over to San Francisco this weekend to set up the phones in the new Wikimedia Foundation offices. We're switching to an open source telephony solution based on Asterisk. Obviously, every phone system needs "on hold" music.
So far, we are using "The RfA Candidate's Song" by User:Bucketsofg. If you want to shoot to international fame by having your own Wikipedia-related song used while people are waiting for someone to answer their call, this is your chance. ;-)
Feel free to add new free content songs to: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Song
(Meta would also be a good place to organize this.)
And no, this post is not indicative of our current priorities. :-) Things have been quite hectic and busy as we're setting up and starting to use our new space. We'll continue to update http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation/offices with pictures, and a detailed report of recent Foundation activities will be forthcoming shortly. -- Erik Möller Deputy Director, Wikimedia Foundation
Support Free Knowledge: http://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Donate
foundation-l mailing list foundation-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: http://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/foundation-l
being a composer, i will give it a go this week at writing an original specially for the purpose, which i will then upload and release under a free license (which ones do you recommend in this case erik?)
*does it have to have a text, or can it also be just nice music? *in case of a text, which one is preferred? *how long should it be?
of course i will take care to produce a quality which plays back nicely on "phone-audio quality" ;-)
all the best, oscar
On Jan 28, 2008 4:02 AM, Erik Moeller erik@wikimedia.org wrote:
Our IT manager, Rob Halsell, came over to San Francisco this weekend to set up the phones in the new Wikimedia Foundation offices. We're switching to an open source telephony solution based on Asterisk. Obviously, every phone system needs "on hold" music.
So far, we are using "The RfA Candidate's Song" by User:Bucketsofg. If you want to shoot to international fame by having your own Wikipedia-related song used while people are waiting for someone to answer their call, this is your chance. ;-)
Feel free to add new free content songs to: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Song
(Meta would also be a good place to organize this.)
And no, this post is not indicative of our current priorities. :-) Things have been quite hectic and busy as we're setting up and starting to use our new space. We'll continue to update http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation/offices with pictures, and a detailed report of recent Foundation activities will be forthcoming shortly. -- Erik Möller Deputy Director, Wikimedia Foundation
Support Free Knowledge: http://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Donate
foundation-l mailing list foundation-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: http://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/foundation-l
which i will then upload and release under a free license (which ones do you recommend in this case erik?)
Although I'm not Erik, I'd recommend you to use some of Creative Commons licenses (CC-BY or CC-BY-SA of any versions). GFDL is not very good for music. Also you can release it in public domain if you like to :)
*does it have to have a text, or can it also be just nice music? *in case of a text, which one is preferred?
This is purely my opinion that it doesn't. Wikimedia is an international organization, but text has to be on one language, so it possibly would be suitable in the first time, but then you will have to compose new songs for other languages.
— Kalan
which i will then upload and release under a free license (which ones do you recommend in this case erik?)
Although I'm not Erik, I'd recommend you to use some of Creative Commons licenses (CC-BY or CC-BY-SA of any versions). GFDL is not very good for music. Also you can release it in public domain if you like to :)
use GFDL text as a part of Wikipedia song
S P O I L E R
The purpose of this License is to make a manual, textbook, or other functional and useful document "free" in the sense of freedom: to assure everyone the effective freedom to copy and redistribute it, with or without modifying it, either commercially or noncommercially.
Always look on the bright side (site) of CC
Secondarily, this License preserves for the author and publisher a way to get credit for their work, while not being considered responsible for modifications made by others.
Always look on the bright side (site) of CC
This License is a kind of "copyleft", which means that derivative works of the document must themselves be free in the same sense. It complements the GNU General Public License, which is a copyleft license designed for free software.
Always look on the bright side (site) of CC
We have designed this License in order to use it for manuals for free software, because free software needs free documentation: a free program should come with manuals providing the same freedoms that the software does.
Always look on the bright side (site) of CC
But this License is not limited to software manuals; it can be used for any textual work, regardless of subject matter or whether it is published as a printed book. We recommend this License principally for works whose purpose is instruction or reference.
Always look on the bright side (site) of CC
This License applies to any manual or other work, in any medium, that contains a notice placed by the copyright holder saying it can be distributed under the terms of this License. Such a notice grants a world-wide, royalty-free license, unlimited in duration, to use that work under the conditions stated herein.
Always look on the bright side (site) of CC
The "Document", below, refers to any such manual or work. Any member of the public is a licensee, and is addressed as "you". You accept the license if you copy, modify or distribute the work in a way requiring permission under copyright law.
Always look on the bright side (site) of CC
A "Modified Version" of the Document means any work containing the Document or a portion of it, either copied verbatim, or with modifications and/or translated into another language.
Always look on the bright side (site) of CC
A "Secondary Section" is a named appendix or a front-matter section of the Document that deals exclusively with the relationship of the publishers or authors of the Document to the Document's overall subject (or to related matters) and contains nothing that could fall directly within that overall subject.
Always look on the bright side (site) of CC
(Thus, if the Document is in part a textbook of mathematics, a Secondary Section may not explain any mathematics.) The relationship could be a matter of historical connection with the subject or with related matters, or of legal, commercial, philosophical, ethical or political position regarding them.
Always look on the bright side (site) of CC
....
but not nc
regards
przykuta
lol :) I suppose it might be a very good tactic to scare off nasty callers by reading out the full GFDL during the telephone waiting theme!
-- Hay / Husky
On Jan 28, 2008 2:40 PM, Przykuta przykuta@o2.pl wrote:
which i will then upload and release under a free license (which ones do you recommend in this case erik?)
Although I'm not Erik, I'd recommend you to use some of Creative Commons licenses (CC-BY or CC-BY-SA of any versions). GFDL is not very good for music. Also you can release it in public domain if you like to :)
use GFDL text as a part of Wikipedia song
S P O I L E R
The purpose of this License is to make a manual, textbook, or other functional and useful document "free" in the sense of freedom: to assure everyone the effective freedom to copy and redistribute it, with or without modifying it, either commercially or noncommercially.
Always look on the bright side (site) of CC
Secondarily, this License preserves for the author and publisher a way to get credit for their work, while not being considered responsible for modifications made by others.
Always look on the bright side (site) of CC
This License is a kind of "copyleft", which means that derivative works of the document must themselves be free in the same sense. It complements the GNU General Public License, which is a copyleft license designed for free software.
Always look on the bright side (site) of CC
We have designed this License in order to use it for manuals for free software, because free software needs free documentation: a free program should come with manuals providing the same freedoms that the software does.
Always look on the bright side (site) of CC
But this License is not limited to software manuals; it can be used for any textual work, regardless of subject matter or whether it is published as a printed book. We recommend this License principally for works whose purpose is instruction or reference.
Always look on the bright side (site) of CC
This License applies to any manual or other work, in any medium, that contains a notice placed by the copyright holder saying it can be distributed under the terms of this License. Such a notice grants a world-wide, royalty-free license, unlimited in duration, to use that work under the conditions stated herein.
Always look on the bright side (site) of CC
The "Document", below, refers to any such manual or work. Any member of the public is a licensee, and is addressed as "you". You accept the license if you copy, modify or distribute the work in a way requiring permission under copyright law.
Always look on the bright side (site) of CC
A "Modified Version" of the Document means any work containing the Document or a portion of it, either copied verbatim, or with modifications and/or translated into another language.
Always look on the bright side (site) of CC
A "Secondary Section" is a named appendix or a front-matter section of the Document that deals exclusively with the relationship of the publishers or authors of the Document to the Document's overall subject (or to related matters) and contains nothing that could fall directly within that overall subject.
Always look on the bright side (site) of CC
(Thus, if the Document is in part a textbook of mathematics, a Secondary Section may not explain any mathematics.) The relationship could be a matter of historical connection with the subject or with related matters, or of legal, commercial, philosophical, ethical or political position regarding them.
Always look on the bright side (site) of CC
....
but not nc
regards
przykuta
foundation-l mailing list foundation-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: http://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/foundation-l
Husky wrote:
lol :) I suppose it might be a very good tactic to scare off nasty callers by reading out the full GFDL during the telephone waiting theme!
-- Hay / Husky
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:GFDL_(English).ogg
Based on przykuta idea, make the waiting text have the subject most calls (complaints) are related to (Why did you delete my article?/We're a notable company/Explain NPOV/Whatever).
So they might learn something about our methods while waiting. I really laughed with The RfA Candidate's Song (i didn't knwo it) but outsiders won't catch it.
The next step would be "phone templates" (like those used on user talk pages or otrs) but would dehumanize the relationship.
On Jan 28, 2008 8:40 AM, Przykuta przykuta@o2.pl wrote:
which i will then upload and release under a free license (which ones do you recommend in this case erik?)
Although I'm not Erik, I'd recommend you to use some of Creative Commons licenses (CC-BY or CC-BY-SA of any versions). GFDL is not very good for music. Also you can release it in public domain if you like to :)
use GFDL text as a part of Wikipedia song
Can't. GFDL text isn't released under a free license.
On 28/01/2008, Anthony wikimail@inbox.org wrote:
use GFDL text as a part of Wikipedia song
Can't. GFDL text isn't released under a free license.
If you're going to be *that* picky, we can play a two-bar bit of GFDL-licensed music, then follow it with a reading of the license as attatched to that recording ;-)
[In all seriousness, delightful though the thought of someone doing their best shipping-forecast impersonation on the GFDL is...]
On 28/01/2008, Andrew Gray shimgray@gmail.com wrote:
[In all seriousness, delightful though the thought of someone doing their best shipping-forecast impersonation on the GFDL is...]
Per previous comments and requests in Taipei, I'd be happy to do my "best shipping-forecast impersonation" - "This is the Wikimedia Foundation, broadcasting from San Francisco". ;-)
Yrs,
On Jan 29, 2008 12:48 PM, James Forrester jdforrester@gmail.com wrote:
On 28/01/2008, Andrew Gray shimgray@gmail.com wrote:
[In all seriousness, delightful though the thought of someone doing their best shipping-forecast impersonation on the GFDL is...]
Per previous comments and requests in Taipei, I'd be happy to do my "best shipping-forecast impersonation" - "This is the Wikimedia Foundation, broadcasting from San Francisco". ;-)
I would have to call up the office at busy times just to hear that. :-)
Seriously, though, I would like to see the RfA candidate song replaced by something else... not because I don't enjoy that too, but because it seems too inside-jokey for the "hold music".
(Maybe a selection of weird facts, combined with announcements? "If you printed out all the articles on Wikimedia projects, they would fill six dozen toilet tanks. But it will all fit on a DVD..." or "it would take 50 trucks full of crazed weasels running on wheels to provide the energy to keep Wikipedia's servers up for one day... or 100 donations from readers like you.")
-Kat not checking the math on this, and especially not going to experimentally verify the energy output of a crazed weasel
On Jan 31, 2008 11:42 AM, Kat Walsh kat@mindspillage.org wrote:
Seriously, though, I would like to see the RfA candidate song replaced by something else... not because I don't enjoy that too, but because it seems too inside-jokey for the "hold music".
You can improvize something nice with your instrumental ...
Seriously if the wmf phone are going to have a menu (e.g. "For press inquiry, push #1, for talking on business partnership, push #2 ... for Wikimedia project related inquiry push #9455966943357), why not put on the foundation website? Many companies which offer telephone transaction give such to their customers either on web or by mail and it has customers spare less time, greatly.
On 31/01/2008, Kat Walsh kat@mindspillage.org wrote:
or "it would take 50 trucks full of crazed weasels running on wheels to provide the energy to keep Wikipedia's servers up for one day... or 100 donations from readers like you.")
"SEND MORE MONEY" is always an appropriate message to send out ;-)
- d.
On Jan 31, 2008 5:10 AM, David Gerard dgerard@gmail.com wrote:
"SEND MORE MONEY" is always an appropriate message to send out ;-)
That's why it's on the server error message.
-Chad
On Jan 31, 2008 5:10 AM, David Gerard dgerard@gmail.com wrote:
On 31/01/2008, Kat Walsh kat@mindspillage.org wrote:
or "it would take 50 trucks full of crazed weasels running on wheels to provide the energy to keep Wikipedia's servers up for one day... or 100 donations from readers like you.")
"SEND MORE MONEY" is always an appropriate message to send out ;-)
- d.
foundation-l mailing list foundation-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: http://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/foundation-l
On 31/01/2008, Chad innocentkiller@gmail.com wrote:
On Jan 31, 2008 5:10 AM, David Gerard dgerard@gmail.com wrote:
"SEND MORE MONEY" is always an appropriate message to send out ;-)
That's why it's on the server error message.
Downtime is our most profitable product!
Hmm, needed more scheduled unscheduled downtime during the fundraiser ...
(joke joke)
- d.
Actually, I really like Kat's idea. We could come up with quite a few "metrics", such as weasel-joules and Pages per Flush, and come up with an interesting, yet informative and non-annoying hold message.
I think it would both entertain and not irritate our callers to hear exactly how big Wikimedia projects are, as expressed in various metrics. Examples: * If you were to view every article on every language Wikipedia, it would take you X amount of time. *If you printed out the German Wikipedia, and stretched it out end to end, it would cover X% of the distance to Mars -- that's Y million American Football fields, or Z billion soccer pitches. * A single California Redwood tree can create enough paper to print out the Esperanto Wikinews twice. *More people visited the English Wikipedia today then the entire population of (insert several small countries here).
Not only is it interesting and informative, but the research process to come up with even baseline answers for these kinds of questions would be really fun IMHO. While Kat may not want to rough-estimate the energy output of a crazed weasel, I kind of want to. ;)
-Dan rosenthal On Jan 30, 2008, at 9:42 PM, Kat Walsh wrote:
Seriously, though, I would like to see the RfA candidate song replaced by something else... not because I don't enjoy that too, but because it seems too inside-jokey for the "hold music".
(Maybe a selection of weird facts, combined with announcements? "If you printed out all the articles on Wikimedia projects, they would fill six dozen toilet tanks. But it will all fit on a DVD..." or "it would take 50 trucks full of crazed weasels running on wheels to provide the energy to keep Wikipedia's servers up for one day... or 100 donations from readers like you.")
-Kat not checking the math on this, and especially not going to experimentally verify the energy output of a crazed weasel
Dan Rosenthal wrote:
I think it would both entertain and not irritate our callers to hear exactly how big Wikimedia projects are, as expressed in various metrics. Examples:
- If you were to view every article on every language Wikipedia, it
would take you X amount of time.
I once calculated that it would take six years to read English Wikipedia cover to cover (er... Main Page to Special:Version).
*If you printed out the German Wikipedia, and stretched it out end to end, it would cover X% of the distance to Mars -- that's Y million American Football fields, or Z billion soccer pitches.
English Wikipedia would have some half million pages (six months ago). Printed on A4 and leaves put side to side - 150 Km.
On Jan 31, 2008 5:42 PM, Nikola Smolenski smolensk@eunet.yu wrote:
I once calculated that it would take six years to read English Wikipedia cover to cover (er... Main Page to Special:Version).
I don't particularly (or in fact at all) care what the "on hold" experience is like. I think I have phoned non-finnish wikipedia people a full total of three times. Once Jimbo, to tell him the server - note singular - had petered out (sorry about the early wake up, that time, Jimbo). Once Imran to verify I was flesh and blood and of suitable age etc. to run for the Board of Trustees. And a third time to Tim Starling about an unspecified concern of mine (which turned out to be me worrying over nothing) which I won't specify further.
But just out of prurient curiosity... Is there a reason why we would not just use spoken articles?
With a distinct lack of care;
Jussi-Ville Heiskanen, ~ [[User:Cimon Avaro]]
On Jan 28, 2008 8:40 AM, Przykuta wrote:
which i will then upload and release under a free license (which ones do you recommend in this case erik?)
Although I'm not Erik, I'd recommend you to use some of Creative Commons licenses (CC-BY or CC-BY-SA of any versions). GFDL is not very good for music. Also you can release it in public domain if you like to :)
use GFDL text as a part of Wikipedia song
Can't. GFDL text isn't released under a free license.
I know - GFDL text can't be fixed, but GFDL text could be add as another song in album "Wikipedia songs" :)
"Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify songs of this album except this song under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2 or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no Invariant Sections, no Front-Cover Texts, and no Back-Cover Texts. A copy of the license is included in the section entitled GNU Free Documentation License.
Text of GFDL here :)
But remember, that text of this song isn't released under a free license"
przykuta
On 1/28/08, oscar van dillen oscarvandillen@wikimedia.org wrote:
being a composer, i will give it a go this week at writing an original specially for the purpose, which i will then upload and release under a free license (which ones do you recommend in this case erik?)
Wow, that's a very nice offer. :-)
CC-BY would be my preference - we could play the attribution after the song.
*does it have to have a text, or can it also be just nice music?
It's up to you - I think it would be cool to have something that _somehow_ relates to Wikipedia/Wikimedia.
*how long should it be?
We can play as many songs as we want on the phone system, but I would say that any individual song should probably be longer than a minute. :-)
Thanks again, Erik
On Jan 27, 2008 10:02 PM, Erik Moeller erik@wikimedia.org wrote:
Feel free to add new free content songs to: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Song
(Meta would also be a good place to organize this.)
There is some material already at http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Humor_songs_and_poems - I'm sure a lot of stuff on other wikis should/could be moved to meta and added there as well.
{{Personal plug}} I wrote http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/All_the_world%27s_a_wiki , which I would love to hear read by someone with a deep Shakespearean voice! ;)
--Ayelie (Editor at Large)
Erik Moeller wrote:
Our IT manager, Rob Halsell, came over to San Francisco this weekend to set up the phones in the new Wikimedia Foundation offices. We're switching to an open source telephony solution based on Asterisk. Obviously, every phone system needs "on hold" music.
There's nothing obvious about that unless your intention is to annoy people. A lot of this elevator music makes me want to hang up. The upbeat stuff is the worst. If people must endure this kind of torture make it low volume Gregorian Chant or meditation music.
If I want music I'm quite capable of turning on the radio or starting a CD.
Ec
On 28/01/2008, Ray Saintonge saintonge@telus.net wrote:
Erik Moeller wrote:
Our IT manager, Rob Halsell, came over to San Francisco this weekend to set up the phones in the new Wikimedia Foundation offices. We're switching to an open source telephony solution based on Asterisk. Obviously, every phone system needs "on hold" music.
There's nothing obvious about that unless your intention is to annoy people. A lot of this elevator music makes me want to hang up. The upbeat stuff is the worst. If people must endure this kind of torture make it low volume Gregorian Chant or meditation music.
The Free Software Song is the obvious choice.
- d.
On Jan 28, 2008 12:48 PM, David Gerard dgerard@gmail.com wrote:
On 28/01/2008, Ray Saintonge saintonge@telus.net wrote:
Erik Moeller wrote:
Our IT manager, Rob Halsell, came over to San Francisco this weekend to set up the phones in the new Wikimedia Foundation offices. We're switching to an open source telephony solution based on Asterisk. Obviously, every phone system needs "on hold" music.
There's nothing obvious about that unless your intention is to annoy people. A lot of this elevator music makes me want to hang up. The upbeat stuff is the worst. If people must endure this kind of torture make it low volume Gregorian Chant or meditation music.
The Free Software Song is the obvious choice.
Nah, RFA song is fine. It will go great with the replacement of the foundation logo with Wikipetan.
Since the Free Software Song is based on a Bulgarian folk song ([[Sadi Moma]]) it might be perceived as too educational by the majority of the (English speaking) callers. Next you'll be suggesting that we take the lead paragraphs from Spoken Wikipedia articles (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:WikiProject_Spoken_Wikipedia) and adding "To learn more about X see visit Wikipedia"... What do you think we are? An encyclopedia?
;)
On 28/01/2008, Gregory Maxwell gmaxwell@gmail.com wrote:
Next you'll be suggesting that we take the lead paragraphs from Spoken Wikipedia articles (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:WikiProject_Spoken_Wikipedia) and adding "To learn more about X see visit Wikipedia"... What do you think we are? An encyclopedia?
I contemplated random bits of spoken articles, but I guess the problem is that actual informational content may be confusing to listen to - with hold music, you're always half on edge listening for a voice to appear, and if you *have* that voice sitting there reciting things...
Likewise. If it's anything other than soft background music, I usually put the phone down and check back every so often. Callers don't listen to the songs put on hold music anyway.
Chad
On Jan 28, 2008 12:43 PM, Ray Saintonge saintonge@telus.net wrote:
Erik Moeller wrote:
Our IT manager, Rob Halsell, came over to San Francisco this weekend to set up the phones in the new Wikimedia Foundation offices. We're switching to an open source telephony solution based on Asterisk. Obviously, every phone system needs "on hold" music.
There's nothing obvious about that unless your intention is to annoy people. A lot of this elevator music makes me want to hang up. The upbeat stuff is the worst. If people must endure this kind of torture make it low volume Gregorian Chant or meditation music.
If I want music I'm quite capable of turning on the radio or starting a CD.
Ec
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We have plenty of classical music that would be available freely, that we could use instead of an irritating jingle.
-Dan On Jan 28, 2008, at 1:21 PM, Chad wrote:
Likewise. If it's anything other than soft background music, I usually put the phone down and check back every so often. Callers don't listen to the songs put on hold music anyway.
Chad
On Jan 28, 2008 12:43 PM, Ray Saintonge saintonge@telus.net wrote:
Erik Moeller wrote:
Our IT manager, Rob Halsell, came over to San Francisco this weekend to set up the phones in the new Wikimedia Foundation offices. We're switching to an open source telephony solution based on Asterisk. Obviously, every phone system needs "on hold" music.
There's nothing obvious about that unless your intention is to annoy people. A lot of this elevator music makes me want to hang up. The upbeat stuff is the worst. If people must endure this kind of torture make it low volume Gregorian Chant or meditation music.
If I want music I'm quite capable of turning on the radio or starting a CD.
Ec
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On 28/01/2008, Dan Rosenthal swatjester@gmail.com wrote:
We have plenty of classical music that would be available freely, that we could use instead of an irritating jingle.
You'd think that? I mean most of the better know bits are a few centuries old. Must be public domain right? imslp.org found otherwise. The copyright situation with regards to such music is great for black humor but not much else.
That was about scores, not about the performance itself. (not that it makes the whole situation on imslp less sad than it is..). There are numerous recordings on Commons for PD classical music that are released under a free license. Simply look at http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Music_sound
However, when i think of all my time spend waiting on telephone lines, i most 'enjoyed' having no music at all. Just a simple 'wait for a moment' every minute and a beep every few seconds.
-- Hay / Husky
On Jan 28, 2008 7:44 PM, geni geniice@gmail.com wrote:
On 28/01/2008, Dan Rosenthal swatjester@gmail.com wrote:
We have plenty of classical music that would be available freely, that we could use instead of an irritating jingle.
You'd think that? I mean most of the better know bits are a few centuries old. Must be public domain right? imslp.org found otherwise. The copyright situation with regards to such music is great for black humor but not much else.
-- geni
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I'm not much of a musician, but I was disappointed to see that all of the actual music was ripped off from established artists. Don't we have anyone who can write a short song that's free, instead of just having free lyrics to a probably non-free tune?
On 27/01/2008, Erik Moeller erik@wikimedia.org wrote:
Our IT manager, Rob Halsell, came over to San Francisco this weekend to set up the phones in the new Wikimedia Foundation offices. We're switching to an open source telephony solution based on Asterisk. Obviously, every phone system needs "on hold" music.
So far, we are using "The RfA Candidate's Song" by User:Bucketsofg. If you want to shoot to international fame by having your own Wikipedia-related song used while people are waiting for someone to answer their call, this is your chance. ;-)
Feel free to add new free content songs to: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Song
(Meta would also be a good place to organize this.)
And no, this post is not indicative of our current priorities. :-) Things have been quite hectic and busy as we're setting up and starting to use our new space. We'll continue to update http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation/offices with pictures, and a detailed report of recent Foundation activities will be forthcoming shortly. -- Erik Möller Deputy Director, Wikimedia Foundation
Support Free Knowledge: http://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Donate
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On Mon, Jan 28, 2008 at 10:41 PM, Mark Williamson node.ue@gmail.com wrote:
I'm not much of a musician, but I was disappointed to see that all of the actual music was ripped off from established artists. Don't we have anyone who can write a short song that's free, instead of just having free lyrics to a probably non-free tune?
We do, see oscar's previous reply ;)
I'm not much of a musician, but I was disappointed to see that all of the actual music was ripped off from established artists. Don't we have anyone who can write a short song that's free, instead of just having free lyrics to a probably non-free tune?
Hmm, jamendo.org?
przykuta
On 28/01/2008, Przykuta przykuta@o2.pl wrote:
I'm not much of a musician, but I was disappointed to see that all of the actual music was ripped off from established artists. Don't we have anyone who can write a short song that's free, instead of just having free lyrics to a probably non-free tune?
Hmm, jamendo.org?
przykuta
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Hmmm shouldn't we have a song without any lyrics, and a voice saying "Welcome to the Wikimedia Foundation offices. Please hold on, we will answer your call as soon as possible." or something alike.
I mean, people calling don't care if they have a funny song with funny lyrics. They want to be sure they've called the right number and someone will answer their call.
Just my two cents
On 28/01/2008, Christophe Henner christophe.henner@gmail.com wrote:
Hmmm shouldn't we have a song without any lyrics, and a voice saying "Welcome to the Wikimedia Foundation offices. Please hold on, we will answer your call as soon as possible." or something alike. I mean, people calling don't care if they have a funny song with funny lyrics. They want to be sure they've called the right number and someone will answer their call.
Heh. I'm wondering if really annoying hold music wouldn't be a feature rather than a problem. Danny, when you were the guy who answered the phone, what percentage of calls were worth getting?
- d.
Christophe Henner wrote:
On 28/01/2008, Przykuta przykuta@o2.pl wrote:
I'm not much of a musician, but I was disappointed to see that all of the actual music was ripped off from established artists. Don't we have anyone who can write a short song that's free, instead of just having free lyrics to a probably non-free tune?
Hmm, jamendo.org
Hmmm shouldn't we have a song without any lyrics, and a voice saying "Welcome to the Wikimedia Foundation offices. Please hold on, we will answer your call as soon as possible." or something alike.
I mean, people calling don't care if they have a funny song with funny lyrics. They want to be sure they've called the right number and someone will answer their call.
If you have a complaint, press 1, If you want to speak to Jimbo, press 2 If you do not understand English, press 3. ... etc....
Ec
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