[Wikimedia-l] [Wikitech-l] New, lower traffic, announcements only email list for Wikimedia developers

[Guillaume Paumier]

Hi,

[cc:ing wikimedia-l because this message is also for Wikimedia users.]

I've been asked to weigh in on this topic, because this is going to be
an area of focus for me over the coming year. I've been tasked with
improving the 2-way communication between users & developers, possibly
using the wikitech-ambassadors list as a medium.

A few people have already explained the scope of the different lists,
but here's my understanding:

* wikitech-l: A high-traffic, unapologetically technical, discussion
list for developers talking to developers
* wikitech-announce: A low-traffic, plain English, announce-only list
for developers talking to Wikimedia users
* wikitech-ambassadors: A (currently) low-traffic, mostly-announce
list for developers talking to Wikimedia users
* mediawiki-announce: A low-traffic, announce-only list for developers
talking to (mostly 3rd-party) MediaWiki users
* wikimediaannounce: A low-traffic, plain English, announce-only list
for general Wikimedia usues.

And the possible change would be for wikitech-ambassadors to become a
medium-to-high-traffic, plain English, list for discussion between
developers and Wikimedia users, to report issues, share ideas and
provide feedback in unapologetically layman terms. The "Ambassadors"
part also means that users who are on that list will have a role in
disseminating information to their local communities, and reporting
back issues possibly raised on local wikis.

FYI, if you're at Wikimania this week, this 2-way communication
channel between developers and users will be a main focus of the
"Transparency" discussion with Sumana, Rob and myself on Saturday 14
at 10:30 in Room 310:
https://wikimania2012.wikimedia.org/wiki/Submissions/Transparency_and_collaboration_in_Wikimedia_engineering

I've also just noticed that there are two other talks related to this topic:

* Oliver's "Engaging the Community: What We've Tried and Where We're
Going" (Thursday July 12, 11:40, Room 310)
https://wikimania2012.wikimedia.org/wiki/Submissions/Engaging_the_Community:_What_We%27ve_Tried_and_Where_We%27re_Going

* Tilman and Max's "Movement Broadcasting - 'Stop Spamming' vs.
'Nobody Told Me" (Thursday, July 12, 14:00, Room 302)
https://wikimania2012.wikimedia.org/wiki/Submissions/Movement_Broadcasting_-_%27Stop_Spamming%27_vs._%27Nobody_Told_Me%27

If you can't attend any of those sessions, but you want to discuss /
rant / share ideas about (mis)communication between MediaWiki
developers and Wikimedia users, please come to me at any time during
the hackathon or the conference (If we don't already know each other,
my photo is on https://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Staff_and_contractors
)

And if you're not at Wikimania, feel free to drop me an e-mail with
your thoughts on the subject.

-- 
Guillaume Paumier
Technical Communications Manager — Wikimedia Foundation