[Wikimedia-l] Banners are too bright, too long

[MZMcBride]

Nathan wrote:
> It's been clear to me, and seemingly other people, that Zack and the
> fundraising team take their task very seriously, and are extraordinarily
> thoughtful in all of their plans and interactions - with folks on the
> mailing list, with editors and other stakeholders, and with readers. The
> fundraising drive this year is head and shoulders above any prior effort by
> virtually any possible measure.
> 
> To take a two word phrase in a short e-mail out of that greater context,
> and use it to imply that Zack is treating site visitors "as though they're
> simply playthings" does Zack a great disservice, and does you no
> credit. Try to keep in mind that Wikimedia employees are people with
> feelings and pride in their work, and in the future take more care with
> comments that impugn their work, professionalism and character.

Yes, you're right. It wasn't fair to quote in the way that I did. It came
close to twisting words and it unfortunately buried the larger point that I
was trying to make about experimenting on users and the lack of general
guidance in this area. I shouldn't have done that and I apologize.

And while you're certainly right that employees are often protective of
their work, you can see how Wikimedians are often protective of theirs?
Fundraising banners are safely categorized as a necessary evil these days,
but when they begin to intrude on page content or intrude on mouse hover, I
believe that crosses a line.

Finally, I've said previously that Wikimedians (or Wikipedians, rather)
complain loudly, but congratulate softly. Megan and her team have done
amazing work this year and I agree with you and others who rate this as the
best and most successful annual fundraiser in Wikimedia's history. And not
that money is the only thing that matters, but in terms of comparison to
other years, this year has apparently just blown them away:
<https://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Special:FundraiserStatistics>. It's
very impressive work and I hope nobody on the fundraising team feels as
though it's gone unnoticed.

MZMcBride