Hello friends,
This is a link I recommend you to bookmark.
http://wiki.wikimedia.in/Geographical_distribution_of_Indian_Wikipedians
This list is useful for outreach & also whenever someone needs Wiki-Help in
a particular city. It would be great if Wikipedians could update this
list.:)
We have the following completely unrepresented states/UTs:
* Andaman & Nicobar Islands
* Arunachal Pradesh
* Assam
* Chandigarh
* Chhattisgarh
* Dadra, Nagar & Haveli
* Daman & Diu
* Goa
* Himachal Pradesh
* Jammu & Kashmir
* Jharkhand (AngPradesh is in Mumbai)
* Lakshadweep
* Manipur
* Meghalaya
* Mizoram
* Puducherry
* Punjab (oye, ye ki hoya!)
* Nagaland
* Uttar Pradesh
* Uttarakhand
Okay, all you admins, please update your status (Mikey my boy, that means
you too)!
Abroad, we dont have Indic Wikipedians listed for:
* Africa
* Australia
* Asia (other than India)
* Middle East
* North America
* South America
Unless you would like to stay off list, of course that's acceptable too.
May I also request Tinu / list admins to please forward it all the Indic
language & city Wikimedia lists. We need this resource to be as
comprehensible as possible.
Warm regards,
Ashwin Baindur
------------------------------------------------------
Hi all,
Needless to repeat the <India-Indic-Mobile-Growth> story. But I was
surprised even with that, many Indic wikipedias do not have a mobile
site(or some have gone dead since they failed to update for
MobileFrontend[1] changes), even the ones that had weren't very much
usable. Lets not cite, mobile phones do not have fonts, no one uses Indic
on mobile, we all know lot of people do use Opera-mini with complex script
rendering support.
* Please visit <yourlanguage>.m.wikpedia.org and see if there is a page. If
it has nothing but 'search, license, and action control' links, here[2] are
the steps that an admin need to do to get a mobile site running with
content. If you have problem in doing those, come and ask at
#wikimedia-tech (or #mediawiki {?}).
* When I visited Tamil wikipedia mobile site, I was restricted to content
that was put on mainpage, the links in it. Since my Symbian phone doesnt
have Indic input system, I cant search anything. The solution to this is to
have a list of articles in alphabetical order *and* display it in mobile
front page, like Assamese wikipedians have done[3]. Many Indic wikis have
this template, but few show it on main page. This might be incredibly
useful on mobile versions.
More thoughts on improving Mobile sites welcome :)
Mobile sites are important since,
1. Lot of people will be using this.
2. The Wikipedia app uses this(?) [Correct me if am wrong]
[1] http://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Extension:MobileFrontend
[2]
http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mobile_Projects/Mobile_Gateway#Mobile_homepa…
[3] http://as.m.wikipedia.org/
--
Regards
Srikanth.L
Hi,
This is to inform those interested that User:Prad2609 and I have written a report on WCI 2011 which is public on meta [1]. A warning on queries; we probably wont answer those since Prad2609 has unsubscribed from all Wikipedia mailing lists and retired and Iv got other priorities myself.
Once again, we thank all those involved with WCI 2011 and thank the Indian Community which responsible for making it a resounding success.
Signing off,
[1] http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Grants:WM_IN/WikiConference_India_2011/Report
Hi Folks,
I was thinking of experimenting conducting online outreach. I want to try out if we can do an effective outreach event using a google+ (video) hangout. Virtual outreach has a number of advantages:
* No investment of time/effort/cost in travel
* Personal attention to each participant (because of individual video/screenshare facilities.)
* No complications of no laptops available at the venue or a limit on creating user names from a single IP address during the event
* Lower dependency on institutions/college fests to organize an event for us.
* Not limited by physical presence. Sitting in Kanyakumari, one can conduct outreach for interested folks in Kashmir!
This is just a trial to test if online outreach is effective, doable and manageable. This could be one of the ways forward! (Potentially, we could have more community members doing more events with a more diverse audience.)
I'm really excited. Fingers crossed!
Thanks
Nitika
Dear colleagues,
A few months ago, I wrote to this list (and to translators-l) asking for
help in translating the information page about the Wikimedia Grants program
into Indic languages. This is important in order to make this information
about an important tool and opportunity for community-level initiative
available to those who would have a hard time digesting that information in
English.
While there has been a good response in translating into other
languages[1], very little progress was made on the Indic languages:
So far, only one Tamil speaker volunteered some time (thank you,
User:Shanmugamp7!), but much more help is needed (including in Tamil, which
is 10% translated).
I ask that you consider taking some time to help with this, or to reach out
to your personal contacts whom you know to be interested in helping in this
way, to help us make the program more accessible throughout India.
The page is here: http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Grants:Index and you can
use the "Translate this page" link at the top to begin translating.
Many thanks in advance,
Asaf
[1] as of this writing, Arabic, Catalan, Spanish, French, Hebrew, Japanese,
Macedonian, Dutch, and Swahili are 100% translated.
--
Asaf Bartov
Wikimedia Foundation <http://www.wikimediafoundation.org>
Dear all,
Greetings! Here's an update on the Social Media pilot
program<http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/India_Program/Pilot_Designs/Social_Media>.
Just a small recap before I go on to the numbers.
*Why Facebook?*
Why we decided to go with Facebook at all is because potential new editors
are more comfortable and familiar with the channel. To illustrate, after
outreach sessions, we tried staying in touch with around 100 participants
using a combination of email and talk page messages and got just 3
responses. When we sent an invite to a Facebook page where they could get
help and inputs on how to edit, we got 300 signed up in less than 3 days.
Also, social media requires relatively lower investments of time and
resources from our community and many Internet savvy people are comfortable
using it. The Social Media program was started in order to effectively
utilize platforms like Facebook and community groups there (like the Odia
Wikipedia group, Kannada Wikipedia group) in order to engage more new
editors and give them basic lessons on editing.
However, running a Facebook group is very different from using Facebook for
personal updates. That's why after observing how these groups work and
interacting with a few editors who started these groups, we developed a
systematic 19 point guide that looks at various aspects of how to do use
Facebook effectively including aspects like discipline in messaging,
structuring the interactions, tone of messaging, selecting articles, being
cautious with Wikispeak etc. (Of course, it keeps in mind WP:NOTFACEBOOK.)
Here's a sneak peek into what we've been doing on two different groups:
1) You can also write on
Wikipedia<https://www.facebook.com/groups/wikipediasupport/>
This group was primarily started to give lessons in English editing.
Although all of us use social network sites, it is important to understand
that the way we interact on Wikipedia is very different from Facebook. This
is the gap we are trying to bridge through more deliberate messaging. As
mentioned in the detailed program
guide<http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/India_Program/Pilot_Designs/Social_Media#Pro…>,
we try and do regular editing sessions with fun, interesting articles that
have adequate space for improvement (therefore making it easier for new
editors to make their first edits.)
Through a series of 5 basic tasks like creating a username, correcting a
spelling mistake, adding a line of information, adding a reference and
adding an interwiki link, we try and get the user to make their first 5
edits in less than 10 minutes. Our initial experiments show promise and of
the 400+ members right now, over 30 users have participated in these
mini-editing sessions and have now edited for the very first time. (You
can see their usernames in the
doc<https://www.facebook.com/groups/wikipediasupport/doc/353268748054711/>on
the group; do note that are the names of 7 existing editors also on
that
list, who are the mentors.)
To cite examples, User:
Zamsam<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Contributions/Zamsam>(a
young new editor) came to the group and wanted to create the article
on
cricketer Ajit Chandila <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ajit_Chandila>. Once
we helped him create the article, he started contributing to Chandila's
article and moved on to another cricketer, Manvinder
Bisla's<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manvinder_Bisla>article.
Similarly,
User:10gible <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Contributions/10gible>joined
us to edit the article on Lalu
Prasad Yadav <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lalu_Prasad_Yadav> while
User:Neeasmaverick<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Contributions/Neeasmaverick>edited
the article on his college, Jawaharlal
Nehru University <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jawaharlal_Nehru_University>,
Vicky Donor <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vicky_Donor> and Amul
girl<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amul_girl>and
User:Saranshkataria<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Contributions/Saranshkataria>edited
Aloo
Chaat <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aloo_Chaat> and
Rasgulla<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rasgulla>.
This could not have been possible without a group of wonderful mentors like
Debanjan, Karthik, Deepon, Sheel, Pratik and Harsh who volunteered and
constantly keep helping new editors. We had Skype calls and regular chats
just to ensure that we connect with new users in a way they find most
comfortable.
The first hurdle of getting new editors to do a set of basic tasks has been
crossed for some. The challenge going forward will always be is to sustain
the interest of these new editors and make them long term editors hopefully
by multiple editing sessions. That still needs to be figured out. Any
inputs, comments and help are welcome.
2) Odia Wikipedia group <https://www.facebook.com/groups/OdiaWiki/>
This group caters to Odia Wikipedians as well as people who speak the
language and might be interested in knowing about Wikipedia. We used
similar techniques as above to expand the group conversations beyond
existing Wikipedians and encourage new editors to participate.
Once when an article on Handia <https://or.wikipedia.org/wiki/Handia> (a
local beverage) was posted, a new
User:Swetapadma<https://or.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=%E0%AC%AC%E0%AD%8D%E0%AD%9F%E0%A…>came
forward to contribute images. Since then, she has been contributing to
articles on Odia cuisine and adding images to articles on Tribes of Odisha.
User:Hellohappy<https://or.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E0%AC%AC%E0%AD%8D%E0%AD%9F%E0%AC%AC%E0%AC%B9…>edited
the article on Capital
High School, Bhubaneswar<https://or.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capital_High_School,_Bhubaneswar>
.
So far almost 10 new users have joined in and made their first few edits in
the past month. Given the small size of Indic communities, this could be a
very effective way of encouraging newbies. This also helps because it
means that it filters in those who have Internet connectivity, are
passionate about the language and (in most cases) are familiar with typing
in Indic languages).
Again, this was done with the help of existing Odia Wikipedians like
Gorvachove, Mrutyunjay Kar, Gyanranjan Sahu, Suratha Parhi, Diptiman and
others.
*Challenges*:
Now that we've figured out a way of engaging so many new editors and
getting them to make their first 5 edits, the challenge is to integrate
them into our community and make sure they continue editing. Also, it would
be ideal to expand this initiative to other Indic and Wikipedia user
groups. (I am already working with the Kannada community and I know that
Wikipedia Club Pune has already been trying something similar). I would
like to invite all community members interested to write to me (
noopur(a)wikimedia.org) and then we can have a brief skype call and figure
how to implement it for your group.
[1] http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/India_Program/Pilot_Designs/Social_Media
[2] https://www.facebook.com/groups/wikipediasupport/
[3]
http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/India_Program/Pilot_Designs/Social_Media#Pro…
[4] https://www.facebook.com/groups/wikipediasupport/doc/353268748054711/
[5] https://www.facebook.com/groups/OdiaWiki/
Regards,
Noopur
--
Noopur Raval
Dear all,
I am very happy to tell you all that the third issue of Wikipatrika - the
community newsletter is finally out! You can check it here:
http://wiki.wikimedia.in/WikiPatrika/2012-05
First things first, a humble acknowledgement to all the editors who helped
out with this issue of the newsletter. A special thanks to Gitartha (as),
Debanjan (bn), Karthik (en and mr), Pratik (en), DS Vyas and Sushant (gu),
Siddhartha (hi), Omshivaprakash (kn), Anoop, Kannan, Sreejith, Viswaprabha
and Shiju (ml), Abhishek (mr), Rajesh and Saroj (ne), Mkar and Srikant
Kedia (or), Abhiram (sa), Logicwiki and Shanmugam (ta), Arjuna and
Rahimanuddin (te). In other contributions, thanks to Srikanth R for
Commons, Logic, Santhosh, Achal for Free culture news and Tinu for Press
news.
This entire venture could not have been possible without Tanvir's constant
support with templates and tweaks. Forgive me if I have missed someone.
So, what has changed from last time? Since all the Wikimeetups are listed
on Wikipedia here and on the respective community pages, we've omitted the
section on events and meetups. Instead, we've added a section on* Featured
Interviews* which has a GLAM interview this time and the *EPOV* column
(Editor's point of view: INCOTM report).
The idea is to make Wikipatrika a supplement to the mailing lists and
village pumps and not replicate the same information in all places.
Hopefully, by the next issue, with more featured interviews, insightful
pieces from editors and free culture persons we will be able to achieve
that.
*The way forward: *
It's a proud moment to see the amount of activity that all our language
communities are involved in. We should definitely strive to make
Wikipatrika regular and hopefully get more editors to contribute. This is
one space where editors can express the dreams, visions and challenges that
their Wikipedia community faces. If you have projects you want to publicize
or successful projects that could be started in other communities, this is
the space to express your opinion! From next time onward, we will
coordinate Patrika on
https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-in-newsletter *mailing
list*. I welcome you all to join right away and we can discuss ideas for
features, changing the format and more! :)
Regards,
Noopur
--
Noopur Raval
Dear Wikimedians,
Wikimedia Commons is happy to announce that the 2011 Picture of the Year
competition is now open at last. We're interested in your opinion as to
which images qualify to be the Picture of the Year for 2011 (not for 2012).
Any user registered at Commons or a Wikimedia wiki SUL-related to Commons
with more than 75 edits before 1 April 2012 (UTC) is welcome to vote. Check
your eligibility
now<http://toolserver.org/%7Epathoschild/accounteligibility/?user=&wiki=&event=…>
! If you meet the criteria, you are eligible to vote.
Nearly 600 images that have been rated Featured Pictures by the
international Wikimedia Commons community in the past year are all entered
in this competition. From professional animal and plant shots to
breathtaking panoramas and skylines, restorations of historically relevant
images, images portraying the world's best architecture, maps, emblems,
diagrams created with the most modern technology, and impressive human
portraits, Commons features pictures of all flavors.
For your convenience, we have sorted the images into topic categories. Two
rounds of voting will be held: In the first round, you can vote for as many
images as you like. The first round the top 32 images , by number of votes,
from any category will go to the final round - the categories are
irrelevant when it comes to counting the votes. If no picture of one topic
category is not in the top 32s, that will be also promoted to the Final to
guarantee a diverse final. In the final round, when a limited number of
images are left, you must decide on the one image that you want to become
the Picture of the Year.
To see the candidate images just go to:
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Commons:Picture_of_the_Year/2011/Galleries
Wikimedia Commons is interested in hearing your opinions on our featured
images of 2011. The deadline for first round voting is 2012-06-04 at 23:59
(UTC).
Thanks,
Wikimedia Commons Picture of the Year committee
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Commons:POTY/2011
--
Thanks & Regards,
Srikant Kedia
Odia (Oriya) Wikipedia Community
<http://or.wikipedia.org>
Mail ID - odiawiki(a)gmail.com
Facebook- facebook.com/OdiaWiki
Tweet @OdiaWiki