The fact that recent changes and watchlists are not working is certainly an issue as it hinders the website's ability to function as a discussion forum and it makes maintenance and dealing with spam much harder. And for anyone who uses them to see what's going on and stay in touch it does look oddly quiet. But that's not the sole purpose of the wiki and the pages are still readable so people can find out about the charity's work which is an important role.

For volunteers who use wikis day-in day-out it's obviously frustrating to have the aspect you're most familiar with not work, but I don't think it can be attributed to perceptions about the Wikimedia experience of senior WMUK people. Amongst the board and staff there is a range of experience within and without Wikimedia and in various parts of the movement. That diversity in experience is a strength rather than a weakness.

Richard Nevell (on sabbatical)

On Mon, 7 Jan 2019 at 20:49, Harry Mitchell <hjmwiki@gmail.com> wrote:
The Wikimedia UK wiki used to see a lot of activity. It was never coherently organised, but the staff and volunteers who were running projects used it as a sort of filing cabinet for documentation of events etc, and a small group of us used to keep an eye on the recent changes for spam and other rubbish but those days seem to be long gone. 

With the key functions of the wiki non-functioning, it is close to useless as a coordination hub and discussion venue and therefore the WMUK community, such as it is (a smaller subset of the community on this mailing list with a more specific function) is essentially homeless. That this does not seem to be a high priority, much less cause for alarm, is in my opinion a reflection on the fact that there is nobody in any senior position at WMUK with any deep background on the Wikimedia projects - something it's hard to shake the feeling is a deliberate hiring decision.  

Harry Mitchell
+44 (0) 7507 536 971
Skype: harry_j_mitchell


On Sun, Jan 6, 2019 at 10:09 PM Lucy Crompton-Reid <lucy.crompton-reid@wikimedia.org.uk> wrote:
Thanks Chris, and apologies that these issues are still not resolved -  I appreciate that this is very frustrating. I'll need to look into this over the next few days and get back to you, but just wanted to acknowledge your message in the meantime. Cheers, Lucy

On Sun, 6 Jan 2019 at 17:27, Chris McKenna <cmckenna@sucs.org> wrote:
This issue was raised on the wiki and this mailing list at the end of
November. We were assured then that the problem, apparently also affecting
QRpedia among other things, and action was in hand to resolve this problem
and prevent similar issues in the future.

However, over a month later (albeit with Christmas in the way) there is no
evidence that anything has happened (I have made two edits to the sandbox
today, should anyone wish to do their own testing).

This leads to some questions:
-Is it really the case that there is only a single volunteer who can fix
the wiki?
-If so, how and why has this been allowed to happen?
-What contingency plans does WMUK have in case this volunteer dies or
otherwise becomes permanently (or long term) unvailable, with or without
warning?
-If not, why has the problem not been fixed yet?
In either case:
-What is the timescale for fixing the problems?
-What concrete actions have been undertaken since November to prevent this
happening again?
-What concrete actions are planned to be undertaken in the future to
prevent this happening again (short and long term), and what is the
timescale for them happening?

----
Chris McKenna

cmckenna@sucs.org
www.sucs.org/~cmckenna


The essential things in life are seen not with the eyes,
but with the heart

Antoine de Saint Exupery


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--
Lucy Crompton-Reid
Chief Executive
Wikimedia UK
+44 (0) 203 372 0762

Wikimedia UK is the national chapter for the global Wikimedia open knowledge movement, and a registered charity. We rely on donations from individuals to support our work to make knowledge open for all. Have you considered supporting Wikimedia? https://donate.wikimedia.org.uk

Company Limited by Guarantee registered in England and Wales, Registered No. 6741827
Registered Charity No.1144513
Registered Office Ground Floor, Europoint, 5 - 11 Lavington Street, London SE1 0NZ

The Wikimedia projects are run by the Wikimedia Foundation (who operate Wikipedia, amongst other projects). Wikimedia UK is an independent non-profit charity with no legal control over Wikipedia nor responsibility for its contents.
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_______________________________________________
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WMUK: https://wikimedia.org.uk