Wikitech-l August 2024

wikitech-l@lists.wikimedia.org

30 participants
32 discussions

The future of RSA certificates and TLS 1.2 at Wikimedia
by Brett Cornwall 03 Dec '24

03 Dec '24

The Wikimedia Foundation uses HTTPS to protect users from eavesdropping and tampering of Wikimedia project pages [1]. As time passes, security protocols gain advancements while weaknesses hamper established protocols. WMF monitors such developments and adjusts ciphers/protocols to provide a secure and performant browsing experience. Wikimedia projects serve RSA and ECDSA certificates; RSA certificates will be removed soon. Wikimedia projects are to serve only ECDSA certificates going forward [2]. RSA certificate usage comprises a fraction of traffic (~0.1%). Additionally, RSA continues weakening in security and increases our cost/overhead of certificate issuance (We pay twice for certificates: Once for ECDSA and once for RSA). In the distant future, WMF also intends on deprecating TLS 1.2 in favor of TLS 1.3 [3]. TLS 1.3 provides security and performance improvements and already comprises the majority of Wikimedia project traffic (TLS 1.2 traffic accounts for less than 4 percent of traffic to Wikimedia sites). Note that this deprecation is not scheduled anytime soon! We merely want to start coordinating with community members and projects to begin the transition. This mail only serves as a preliminary announcement of intent to eventually deprecate TLS 1.2, not as an official deprecation warning. [1] https://wikitech.wikimedia.org/wiki/HTTPS [2] https://phabricator.wikimedia.org/T370837 [3] https://phabricator.wikimedia.org/T367821

1 3

Article source code style guide
by Bináris 03 Dec '24

03 Dec '24

Hi, is there anywhere a $subject? My first question is: is it better to leave an empty line under section titles or not? I would like to see pros and cons. Is there a consensus for preferred way? (I think source code style guides are primarily within the scope of programmers and not in that of users without programming experience, that's why I ask here.) -- Bináris

4 6

[Google Season of Docs] Call for documentation projects and technical writers
by Alexandra Paskulin 27 Nov '24

27 Nov '24

Hi all, We’re excited to announce Wikimedia’s participation in Google Season of Docs! 🎉 For the first time since 2020, Wikimedia is applying for Google Season of Docs[1]: a program that provides grants to technical writers to work on documentation for open-source projects. This year, we’ll be selecting one Wikimedia documentation project and, if accepted by Google, hiring one technical writer to complete the project. For details about the program and how to apply, see the wiki page[2]. Here's how you can get involved: - [Until March 22] Propose a project, share feedback on a project, or volunteer to help support a project[3]. - [Until April 28] Apply as a technical writer. We highly encourage Wikimedians to apply! Even if you’re not a professional technical writer, we value experience working on wikis. Our goal is to use this program to improve MediaWiki.org and other Wikimedia technical documentation, supplementing the work done by volunteers and staff. We’re hoping to use this year’s edition as a model to expand the program to multiple projects in future years. Let's make this a successful season of documentation together! 📚 Best, - Alex and Onyinyechi [1] - https://developers.google.com/season-of-docs [2] - https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Season_of_Docs/2024 [3] - https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Season_of_Docs/2024#Volunteering_to_support_… -- Alex Paskulin Technical Writer Wikimedia Foundation

1 1

Changes to JavaScript documentation tools
by Alexandra Paskulin 13 Nov '24

13 Nov '24

Hi everyone, tl;dr The tools we use to document Wikimedia JavaScript code are changing. In the short term, you can read the complete MediaWiki core JavaScript docs using the 1.41 version[0] while we migrate to the new system[1]. If you use JavaScript documentation on doc.wikimedia.org, please share your feedback on wiki[2]. Wikimedia JavaScript codebases are switching from using JSDuck[3] to JSDoc[4] for documentation. Started in 2016, this migration is necessary because JSDuck is currently unmaintained and does not support the ES6 standard[5]. Several Wikimedia JavaScript codebases, including Vector and GlobalWatchlist, already use JSDoc, while several others, such as VisualEditor and MediaWiki core, still use JSDuck. The migration project consists of two parts: changing the codebases to support JSDoc and improving the usability of the JSDoc WMF theme. For more information, see phab:T138401[6]. == Migrating MediaWiki core to JSDoc == We are migrating MediaWiki core to JSDoc incrementally. While the migration is in progress, the master branch docs will be incomplete, containing only those modules that have been migrated. To read the old JSDuck docs, see the MediaWiki 1.41 docs[0]. To help with migration, choose a module from the list in phab:T352308[7], and follow the guide on phab:T138401[6] to translate the tags from JSDuck to JSDoc. == Migrating other codebases == You can find a list of codebases that use JSDuck on phab:T138401[6]. (Please add any that are missing.) To help migrate a codebase that uses JSDuck, follow the instructions to set up JSDoc[8], and use the guide in phab:T138401[6] to translate the tags from JSDuck to JSDoc. == Improving the JSDoc WMF theme == One of the biggest differences between JSDuck and JSDoc is the HTML interface for reading the docs. The WMF theme for JSDoc is not as full-featured as the JSDuck theme, but to support this migration, the Wikimedia Foundation Web, Design Systems, and Technical Documentation teams are working to prioritize and complete a set of improvements to the JSDoc theme, with the goal of releasing version 1 of jsdoc-wmf-theme in 2024. If you use JavaScript documentation on doc.wikimedia.org, please leave a comment on the JSDoc WMF theme talk page[2] and let us know how you use the docs and which features of the theme are the most important to you. Thank you for reading! Alex, Kamil, Jon, Roan, and Anne [0]: https://doc.wikimedia.org/mediawiki-core/REL1_41/js/ [1]: https://doc.wikimedia.org/mediawiki-core/master/js/ [2]: https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Talk:JSDoc_WMF_theme [3]: https://github.com/senchalabs/jsduck [4]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JSDoc [5] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ECMAScript [6]: https://phabricator.wikimedia.org/T138401 [7]: https://phabricator.wikimedia.org/T352308 [8]: https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/JSDoc -- Alex Paskulin Technical Writer Wikimedia Foundation

1 2

Can somebody help review this banana-i18n PR?
by psnbaotg 25 Oct '24

25 Oct '24

Hello all, I hope the maintainer of banana-i18n take a look at this PR (https://github.com/wikimedia/banana-i18n/pull/79), which is a fix for this task (https://phabricator.wikimedia.org/T359822). Thank you very much! Best, Diskdance

2 2

New Code of Conduct Committee members
by Amir Sarabadani 13 Oct '24

13 Oct '24

Hello everyone, The Committee has finished selecting its new members. The new committee candidates are (in alphabetical order): - Amir Sarabadani - Egbe Eugene Agbor (Eugene233) - Greg Grossmeier - Jayprakash12345 - Kamila Součková Auxiliary members will be (alphabetically): - Effie Mouzeli - Joris Darlington Quarshie - Martin Urbanec - MusikAnimal - SD0001 You can read more information about the members at [1]. List of changes from the last term: - Greg and Kamila will be joining the main committee. - Nuria is leaving the main committee - MusikAnimal is moving to the aux committee - Tony is leaving the aux committee This is not the final structure. According to the CoC [2], the current committee publishes the new members and calls for public feedback for *six weeks* and after that, the current committee might apply changes to the structure based on public feedback. Please let the committee know (via techconduct(a)wikimedia.org) if you have any concern regarding the members and its structure until *08 October 2024* and after that, the new committee will be in effect and will serve for a year. [1] https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Code_of_Conduct/Committee/Members/Candidates [2] https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Code_of_Conduct/Committee#Selection_of_new_m… -- Amir (he/him)

2 2

Missing Section Headings
by Marc Riddell 13 Sep '24

13 Sep '24

Hello, I have been a WP editor since 2006. I hope you can help me. For some reason I no longer have Section Heading titles showing in the Articles. This is true of all Headings including the one that carries the Article subject's name. When there is a Table of Contents, it appears fine and, when I click on a particular Section, it goes to that Section, but all that is there is a straight line separating the Sections. There is also no button to edit a Section. If I edit the page and remove the "== ==" markers from the Section Titles, the Title then shows up, but not as a Section Heading. Also, I don't have any Date separators on my Want List. This started 2 days ago. Any thoughts? Thanks, Marc Riddell [[User:Michael David]]

10 11

Drop dedicated support for IE 11, Edge Legacy and Opera
by Volker E. 06 Sep '24

06 Sep '24

Hi everyone, the Design System Team (DST) is proposing the following changes to MediaWiki browser support [1]: - Drop support for Internet Explorer 11 (IE 11) - Drop support for all versions of Edge Legacy - Drop support for Opera - Increase Basic (Grade C) support for Chrome and Firefox to versions 49+, Safari and iOS to versions 10+. What this means: The browsers we’re phasing out won’t be tested for layout rendering anymore. While users on these browsers might and will still be able to read and basically interact with content, they might experience some quirks. This step helps us integrate modern web features more seamlessly. These changes will unlock the ability to use specific newer browser features that cannot be safely used today without requiring a fallback, notably CSS custom properties (used in upcoming reading customization features like Night Mode) and the <summary> and <details> HTML elements that can be used to replace the checkbox hack. This will reduce the amount of code sent to 99.9% of users and cut down on software development costs and maintenance burdens. See the full announcement for more details; PDF to download [2]. On behalf of the Wikimedia Foundation Design System Team, Volker [1] https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Compatibility#Browser_support_matrix [2] https://phabricator.wikimedia.org/F52025988

11 14

Call for Projects and Mentors for Outreachy Round 29 is open!
by Deb Tankersley 05 Sep '24

05 Sep '24

Hello, I'm happy to announce that Wikimedia is participating in Round 29 of the Outreachy program https://www.outreachy.org/ [1] that runs from December 2024 through March 2025! The deadline to submit projects on the Outreachy website is September 11, 2024 at 4pm UTC and the project list will be finalized by September 18, 2024. We are currently gathering a list of interesting project ideas. If you have some ideas for coding or non-coding (design, documentation, translation, outreach, research) projects, please share them on this task: https://phabricator.wikimedia.org/T372834 [2]. *About the Outreachy Program* Outreachy is a paid, remote three-month internship program. Outreachy's goal is to support people from groups underrepresented in tech. We help newcomers to free software and open source make their first contributions in Free and Open Source Software (FOSS), coding, and non-coding projects with experienced mentors. These internships run twice a year–from May to August and December to March. Interns are paid a stipend of USD 7000 for the three months of work. Outreachy internship projects may include programming, user experience, documentation, illustration, graphical design, or data science. Interns often find employment after their internship with Outreachy sponsors or in jobs that use the skills they learned during their internship. Outreachy is open to applicants around the world and the program is open to both students and non-students; complete eligibility rules <https://www.outreachy.org/docs/applicant/> [3]. Outreachy expressly invites the following people to apply: - Women (both cis and trans), trans men, non-binary people, and genderqueer people. - Anyone who faces under-representation, systematic bias, or discrimination in the technology industry in their country of residence. - Residents and nationals of the United States of America of any gender who are Black/African American, Hispanic/Latin@, Native American/American Indian, Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian, or Pacific Islander. *Tips for mentors for proposing projects* As a mentor, you will engage with potential candidates in the application period during October and help them make small contributions to your project. You will work more closely with the accepted candidates during the internship period from December through March. Each mentor will need to submit an intern project proposal: https://www.outreachy.org/communities/cfp/wikimedia/ [4]. The project proposal will then be reviewed and approved by the FOSS community coordinators. Additional co-mentors for the intern project will be able to sign up for the project after it has been approved by the community coordinator. *Guidelines for Crafting Project Proposals* - Follow this task description template when you propose a project in Phabricator: https://phabricator.wikimedia.org/tag/outreach-programs-projects [5]. - Add *Outreachy (Round 29)* tag - Project should require an experienced developer ~15 days and a newcomer ~3 months to complete. - Each project should have at least two mentors, with one of them holding a technical background. - Ideally, the project has no tight deadlines, a moderate learning curve, and fewer dependencies on Wikimedia's core infrastructure. Projects addressing the needs of a language community are most welcome. - If you don't have an idea in mind and would like to pick one from an existing list, check out these projects: - https://phabricator.wikimedia.org/tag/outreach-programs-projects [6] - To learn more about the roles and responsibilities of mentors, visit our resources on MediaWiki.org: - https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Outreachy/Mentors [7] We look forward to your participation! Cheers, Deb [1] https://www.outreachy.org/ [2] https://phabricator.wikimedia.org/T372834 [3] https://www.outreachy.org/docs/applicant/ [4] https://www.outreachy.org/communities/cfp/wikimedia/ [5] https://phabricator.wikimedia.org/tag/outreach-programs-projects [6] https://phabricator.wikimedia.org/tag/outreach-programs-projects [7] https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Outreachy/Mentors -- deb tankersley (she/her) senior technical program manager Wikimedia Foundation

1 1

Parsoid Read Views roll out on English and Hebrew Wikivoyage this week
by C. Scott Ananian 04 Sep '24

04 Sep '24

Hello everyone, I am glad to inform you that as part of our continued rollout of Parsoid Read Views, Parsoid is expected to be turned on this week as the default read views renderer on English and Hebrew Wikivoyage. Here's the rationale <https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Parsoid/Parser_Unification/Confidence_Framew…> behind our confidence to roll-out this experimental feature and collect feedback. This is an opportunity for continued experimentation as we increase the number of wikis using Parsoid for read views. If this disrupts your workflow, don’t worry you can still opt out through a user preference or turn Parsoid off on the page you’re navigating in the Tools submenu, as described at the Extension:ParserMigration <https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Help:Extension:ParserMigration> page. To report bugs and issues, please look at our known issues <https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Parsoid/Parser_Unificatio…> documentation and if you found a new bug please create a phab ticket and tag the Content Transform Team in Phabricator <https://phabricator.wikimedia.org/project/view/5846>. There is more information about our roll-out strategy <https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Parsoid/Parser_Unification/Confidence_Framew…> available. Best regards, C. Scott Ananian <https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/User:CAnanian_(WMF)>, for the Content Transform Team

1 3

2025

2024

2023

2022

2021

2020

2019

2018

2017

2016

2015

2014

2013

2012

2011

2010

2009

2008

2007

2006

2005

2004

2003

2002

Wikitech-l August 2024