[Wikimedia-l] Travel Guide Wiki

[Sue Gardner]

Hey folks,

For those who've been following this thread -- I wanted to let you
know I've posted a comment from the Wikimedia Foundation, on the talk
page for the meta page James made, here:
http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Talk:Wiki_Travel_Guide#Comment_from_the_Wikimedia_Foundation

I pasted the full text below, for anyone who doesn't want to go to the
wiki. But if you want to discuss it, I think that's arguably better
done on the wiki than a mailing list, in order to keep the
conversation unfragmented.

Thanks,
Sue

Hey folks,

I've been very interested reading the discussions here and on the
mailing lists about whether the Wikimedia movement should start a new
travel project. In response to questions I've been getting privately,
I want to lay out the Wikimedia Foundation's position.

First, a quick recap: The initiator of this idea is enWP editor James
Heilman. James first proposed the idea in an e-mail to me about a
month ago, and a few weeks after that he made a formal proposal on
meta here: http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wiki_Travel_Guide, and
started raising it on the lists. So far, there has been a fair bit of
a discussion – here, and also on wikimedia-l (formerly foundation-l).
Some editors have expressed support; some have been questioning
whether travel fits inside our educational mission, and some have been
discussing how a travel site might handle or interpret NPOV. I've been
pleased, watching the talking, because in my time with the Wikimedia
projects, I have mostly seen new project proposals either ignored or
quickly quashed. IMO this one is getting more serious consideration
than is typical, and I am choosing to interpret that as a signal of
renewed energy in the Wikimedia movement :-)

So. Some thoughts from the Wikimedia Foundation:

* The Wikimedia Foundation is open to the idea of new projects, and is
happy to have the community discussing ideas for new projects.

* Whether it makes sense to create a Wikimedia travel project is a
discussion for the community to have with itself. I encourage you to
continue talking (and I, and the rest of the staff, and the Board,
will continue listening).

* The specifics of how new projects get created are not particularly
clear at this time. I think it would be great for the community to use
this as an opportunity to (re)define a good process for new project
creation, regardless of what happens regarding a travel project. I
imagine that a good process might look something like this (combining
the process that approved Wikiversity and the chapter approval
process): i) Someone from the community makes a basic, public
proposal; ii) there is some form of community discussion, which might
include an RfC; iii) when/if a decision is made to move forward, then
the Board is asked to provide approval; iv) the Board reviews and, if
it chooses to, provides provisional approval pending staff review. v)
The staff then works out the details and implements the decision. That
could work, or something like that.

Regardless of what the community decides regarding creating a
Wikimedia travel project, the Wikimedia Foundation believes there's
enough room for multiple travel sites to co-exist, and for community
members to contribute to multiple sites in this area. Of course, if
the community decides to support a travel project, we would need to
choose a name that is not confusing with that of other sites. That is
the kind of detail the staff would need to be involved in.

The main purpose of this comment is to encourage people to keep
discussing the idea, and to work towards further defining the process
for new project creation. It looks like James started an RfC
yesterday, just above this comment, which is great. Regardless of
whether or not a travel project moves forward, personally I am glad to
see the proposal being seriously discussed. To me it's a sign of
energy and openness and fertility in the movement, which makes me very
happy :-)

Thanks, Sue Gardner (talk) 22:33, 18 April 2012 (UTC)

--
Sue Gardner
Executive Director
Wikimedia Foundation

415 839 6885 office
415 816 9967 cell

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