[Wikimedia-l] [Wikimedia Announcements] Wikimedia Foundation Report, July 2012
Tilman Bayer
tbayer at wikimedia.org
Sat Sep 1 02:36:51 UTC 2012
Hi all,
please find below the WMF report for July 2012, in plain text.
As always, the editable and formatted version has been published on Meta:
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_Report,_July_2012
and the reports are posted on the Wikimedia blog, too:
https://blog.wikimedia.org/c/corporate/wmf-monthly-reports/
This issue was published a bit later than usual; expect the August
report to come out sooner. On the upside, the delay has made it
possible to add numerous direct links to the Wikimania videos that
were uploaded recently by Wikimedia DC.
As usual, we are also publishing a separate "Highlights" summary.
Please consider helping non-English-language communities to stay
updated, by providing a translation:
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Highlights,_July_2012
Supported by the new translation notifications system, volunteers have
translated the June Highlights into around 30 different languages
eventually (see upcoming separate announcement).
While still focussing on WMF activities, the "Highlights" include a
small selection of the most noteworthy events from the whole movement.
Suggestions for the upcoming August issue are welcome at
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Talk:Wikimedia_Highlights
(until September 3).
Regards, Tilman
--
Wikimedia Foundation Report, July 2012
<Video: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Monthly_Metrics_Meeting_August_2,_2012.ogv>
Video of the monthly Wikimedia Foundation metrics and activities meeting
covering the month of July (August 2, 2012)>
* 1 Data and Trends
* 2 Financials
* 3 Highlights
o 3.1 Foundation staff at Wikimania
* 4 Technology
o 4.1 Events
o 4.2 Operations
o 4.3 Features Engineering
o 4.4 Internationalization and Editor Engagement Experiments
o 4.5 Mobile Engineering
o 4.6 Platform Engineering
* 5 Fundraising
o 5.1 Major Gifts and Foundations
o 5.2 Fundraiser
* 6 Global Development
o 6.1 Global Development Highlights
o 6.2 Global Learning and Grantmaking
+ 6.2.1 Grants Awarded and Executed
o 6.3 Fellowships
+ 6.3.1 Dispute Resolution
+ 6.3.2 Help Pages Redesign
+ 6.3.3 Small Wiki Editor Engagement
+ 6.3.4 Teahouse
+ 6.3.5 Translations
o 6.4 Editor Growth and Contribution Program
o 6.5 Brazil Catalyst <#Brazil_Catalyst>
+ 6.5.1 Activities in events: Campus Party Recife 2012 and
Wikimania
+ 6.5.2 Community Engagement and activities
+ 6.5.3 Brazil Education Program
+ 6.5.4 Office/Staff
o 6.6 US Cultural Partnerships
o 6.7 Mobile and Business Development
o 6.8 Wikipedia Education Program
o 6.9 India Programs
+ 6.9.1 India Community Support
o 6.10 Communications
+ 6.10.1 Major announcements
+ 6.10.2 Major Storylines in July
+ 6.10.3 Other worthwhile reads
+ 6.10.4 Wikipedia Signpost
+ 6.10.5 WMF Blog posts
+ 6.10.6 Media Contact
* 7 Human Resources
o 7.1 Staff Changes
o 7.2 Statistics
o 7.3 Department Updates
* 8 Finance and Administration
* 9 Legal and Community Advocacy
* 10 Visitors and Guests
== Data and Trends ==
<Image: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wikimedia_Foundation_Monthly_Metrics_Meeting_August_2,_2012-8757_01.jpg
Erik Möller explaining pageviews>
Global unique visitors for June:
*469.64 million* (-4.62% compared with May; +17.60% compared with
the previous year)
(comScore data
<http://reportcard.wmflabs.org/graphs/unique_visitors> for all
Wikimedia Foundation projects; comScore will release July data later
in August)
Page requests for July:
*17.1 billion* (-1.9% compared with June; +2.5% compared with the
previous year)
(Server log data
<http://stats.wikimedia.org/EN/TablesPageViewsMonthlyAllProjects.htm>,
all Wikimedia Foundation projects including mobile access)
Active Registered Editors for June 2012 (>= 5 edits/month):
82,220 (-3.2% compared with May / -1.3% compared with the previous year)
(Database data
<http://reportcard.wmflabs.org/graphs/active_editors>, all Wikimedia
Foundation projects except for Wikimedia Commons. Note: We are in
the process of moving to a metric that takes into account SUL and
Wikimedia Commons.)
*Report Card* (integrating various statistical data and trends about WMF
projects) for June 2012:
http://reportcard.wmflabs.org/
== Financials ==
<Image: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:WMF_YTD_Revenue_and_Expenses_vs_Plan_as_of_June_30,_2012.png>
WMF YTD Revenue and Expenses vs Plan as of June 30, 2012>
<Image: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:WMF_YTD_Expenses_by_Functions_as_of_June_30,_2012.png>
WMF YTD Expenses by Functions as of June 30, 2012>
<Image: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wikimedia_Foundation_Monthly_Metrics_Meeting_August_2,_2012-8757_03.jpg>
Sue Gardner explaining financial information>
(Financial information is only available for June 30, 2012 at the time
of this report.)
All financial information presented is for the period of July 1, 2011 -
June 30, 2012.
Revenue $36,112,711
*Expenses:*
Technology Group $12,335,628
Community/Fundraiser Group $3,769,765
Global Development Group $4,879,005
Governance Group $998,443
Finance/Legal/HR/Admin Group $6,814,021
Total Expenses $28,796,862
Total surplus/(loss) $7,315,849
* Revenue for the month is $549K vs plan of $162K, approximately $387K
or 238% over plan.
* Year-to-date revenue is $36.1MM vs plan of $29.5MM, approximately
$6.6MM or 22% over plan.
* Expenses for the month is $3.3MM vs plan of $2.2MM, approximately
$1.1MM or 49% higher than plan, primarily due to catching up on
planned capital expenditures and higher-than-budgeted expenses for
professional services and wikimania.
* Year-to-date expenses is $28.8MM vs plan of $28.3MM, approximately
$512K or 2% higher than plan, primarily due to higher-than-budgeted
payment processing fees (reflecting over-achieved revenue targets),
higher-than-budgeted expenses for Wikimania, and an over-spend for
Legal to fix issues with our trademark portfolio.
* Cash position is $25.4MM as of June 30, 2012 which is approximately
10.9 months of expenses.
* Please note that the June 30, 2012 numbers presented in this report
will be different from those in the audited financial reports due to
the way capital expenditures and other items are presented. For
example, for this report capital expenditures for servers and other
equipment purchases are shown as an expense for the fiscal year, and
for our audited financial statements they will be moved to fixed
assets on the balance sheet and the audited statement of activities
will show depreciation expense.
== Highlights ==
=== Foundation staff report on their work at Wikimania ===
<Image: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wikimania_2012_Group_Photograph-0004.jpg>
Wikimania 2012 group photograph>
>From July 12 to July 14, Wikimedians from around the world came together
in Washington DC for this year's annual Wikimania conference, organized
by Wikimedia District of Columbia (see also the this month's movement
highlights
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Highlights,_July_2012>).
Among them were many Wikimedia Foundation staff, fellows and contractors.
The keynote of Wikimedia Foundation Executive Director Sue Gardner was
titled "Wikimedia Foundation: The Year In Review and The Year Ahead"
(slides <https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sue_Gardner_Presentation_Wikimania_2012.pdf>),
and
the Schedule <https://wikimania2012.wikimedia.org/wiki/Schedule> included many
other presentations by WMF staff, fellows and contractors:
* Fabrice Florin, Howie Fung, Karyn Gladstone, Brandon Harris, Oliver
Keyes: /Engaging editors on Wikipedia: A roadmap of new features/
(abstract
<https://wikimania2012.wikimedia.org/wiki/Submissions/Engaging_editors_on_Wikipedia:_A_roadmap_of_new_features>,
slides
<https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wikimania-2012-Editor-Engagement-Panel-07-12.pdf>)
/
Oliver Keyes: /Engaging the Community: What We've Tried and Where
We're Going/ (abstract
<https://wikimania2012.wikimedia.org/wiki/Submissions/Engaging_the_Community:_What_We%27ve_Tried_and_Where_We%27re_Going>)
- video <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6POVSbBfPX0>
* Trevor Parscal and Roan Kattouw: /Life Without Brackets: Visual
Editing for Wikitext/ (abstract
<https://wikimania2012.wikimedia.org/wiki/Submissions/Life_Without_Brackets:_Visual_Editing_for_Wikitext>,
* Erik Moeller: /The purpose-driven social network: Supporting
WikiProjects with technology/ (abstract
<https://wikimania2012.wikimedia.org/wiki/Submissions/The_purpose-driven_social_network:_Supporting_WikiProjects_with_technology>,
slides
<https://wikimania2012.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wikimania_2012-WikiProjects.pdf>)
* Brandon Harris: /The Athena Project: Wikipedia in 2015/ (abstract
<https://wikimania2012.wikimedia.org/wiki/Submissions/The_Athena_Project:_Wikipedia_in_2015>.
slides <https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wikimania_-_2012_-_Athena_Project.pdf>)
* Steven Walling, Maryana Pinchuk: /Welcome to Wikipedia, now please
go away: improving how we communicate with new editors/ (abstract
<https://wikimania2012.wikimedia.org/wiki/Submissions/Welcome_to_Wikipedia,_now_please_go_away:_improving_how_we_communicate_with_new_editors>,
slides <https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Template_A-B_testing_presentation_deck.pdf>,
video
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DkCLHmuRuB4&feature=player_detailpage#t=1549s>)
* Tilman Bayer (with MZMcBride): /Stop Spamming' vs. 'Nobody Told Me'
– the state and future of movement broadcasting mechanisms/
(abstract
<https://wikimania2012.wikimedia.org/wiki/Submissions/Movement_Broadcasting_-_%27Stop_Spamming%27_vs._%27Nobody_Told_Me%27>,
slides
<https://wikimania2012.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wikimania_2012_-_Movement_broadcasting_mechanisms.pdf>,
video
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DkCLHmuRuB4&feature=player_detailpage#t=3015s>)
* Alolita Sharma: /The next billion users on Wikipedia with Open
Source Webfonts/ (abstract
<https://wikimania2012.wikimedia.org/wiki/Submissions/The_next_billion_users_on_Wikipedia_with_Open_Source_Webfonts>,
video <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X39fQMRpDhQ&feature=plcp>)
* Amir E. Aharoni: /The software localization paradox/ (abstract
<https://wikimania2012.wikimedia.org/wiki/Submissions/The_software_localization_paradox>,
slides <https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The-paradox-free.pdf>)
* Noopur Raval: /GLAM and Outreach in India/ (abstract
<https://wikimania2012.wikimedia.org/wiki/Submissions/GLAM_and_Outreach_in_India>)
* Lori Byrd Phillips: /State of GLAM-WIKI in the US/ (abstract
<https://wikimania2012.wikimedia.org/wiki/Submissions/State_of_GLAM-Wiki_in_the_US>)
* James Forrester & Philippe Beaudette: /Wikimedia relations with
governments, lobbying and public relations/ (abstract
<https://wikimania2012.wikimedia.org/wiki/Submissions/Wikimedia_relations_with_governments,_lobbying_and_public_relations>,
video <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=35T7ceVT5jU&t=1542s>)
* Amir E. Aharoni: /Supporting languages, all of them/ (abstract
<https://wikimania2012.wikimedia.org/wiki/Submissions/Supporting_languages,_all_of_them>
- submitted by Gerard Meijssen - , slides
<https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wikimania_2012_Supporting_languages,_all_of_them.pdf>,
video <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hG38eXH4SaE>)
* Siebrand Mazeland: /A Tale of Language Support/ (abstract
<https://wikimania2012.wikimedia.org/wiki/Submissions/A_Tale_of_Language_Support>,
slides <https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wikimania_2012_A_Tale_of_Language_Support.pdf>,
video <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X39fQMRpDhQ#t=5700s>)
* Siebrand Mazeland, Santhosh Thottingal, Pau Giner, Niklas Laxström,
Amir Aharoni, Arun Ganesh, Alolita Sharma: /Ask the Language Support
People/ (abstract
<https://wikimania2012.wikimedia.org/wiki/Submissions/Ask_the_Language_Support_People>,
video <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X39fQMRpDhQ&t=7398s>)
* Fabrice Florin: /Giving Readers a Voice: Lessons from Article
Feedback v5/ (abstract
<https://wikimania2012.wikimedia.org/wiki/Submissions/Giving_Readers_a_Voice:_Lessons_from_Article_Feedback_v5>,
slides <https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Article-Feedback-Slides-07-13-2012.pdf>,
video
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gWYH46p5hss&feature=plcp>)
* Geoff Brigham: /Top 10 Legal Issues for the Wikimedia Movement/
(abstract
<https://wikimania2012.wikimedia.org/wiki/Submissions/Top_10_Legal_Issues>,
slides
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:WMF_LCA_Presentation_-_Wikimania_2012.pdf>,
video
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mEuBsbl_zGg>)
* Leslie Carr, Ben Hartshorne, Jeff Green, Ryan Lane, Rob Halsell:
/Ask the Operators/ (abstract
<https://wikimania2012.wikimedia.org/wiki/Submissions/Ask_the_Operators>,
video <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qWBoSoWrgF4&t=2307s>)
* Ben Hartshorne: /Swift and the Media Storage System/ (abstract
<https://wikimania2012.wikimedia.org/wiki/Submissions/Swift_and_the_Media_Storage_System>,
slides
<https://wikimania2012.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Swift_Presentation_for_Wikimania.pdf>,
video <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qWBoSoWrgF4>)
* Amir E. Aharoni: /The hundred-year old websites - a new look at
Wikisource/ (abstract
<https://wikimania2012.wikimedia.org/wiki/Submissions/The_hundred-year_old_websites>,
slides <https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wikisource-hundred-year-old-websites.pdf>,
video
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AXQ3GC7O2mc>)
* Brion Vibber: /Embedded scripting: creating interactive diagrams,
maps, and other media resources in MediaWiki/ (abstract
<https://wikimania2012.wikimedia.org/wiki/Submissions/Embedded_scripting:_creating_interactive_diagrams,_maps,_and_other_media_resources_in_MediaWiki>,
slides
<https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wikimania_2012_DC_-_Brion_Vibber_-_Embedded_scripting.pdf>,
video <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QOoYzxdUkvc&t=1982s>)
* Andrew Garrett, with other panelists: /Small Process Helpers: The
case for Widgets/ (abstract
<https://wikimania2012.wikimedia.org/wiki/Submissions/Small_process_helpers:_The_case_for_widgets>,
video <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QOoYzxdUkvc&t=3369s>)
* Tomasz Finc, Jon Robson: /The Wikipedia Mobile Experience — Where
We've Been and Where We're Going/ (abstract
<https://wikimania2012.wikimedia.org/wiki/Submissions/The_Wikipedia_Mobile_Experience>
- submitted by Patrick Reilly -,slides
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_Wikipedia_Mobile_Experience_%E2%80%94_Wikimania_2012.pdf>,
video <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JWQuOf6e0p>)
* Yuvaraj Pandian: /The Wikipedia Smartphone Apps Story/ (abstract
<https://wikimania2012.wikimedia.org/wiki/Submissions/The_Wikipedia_Smartphone_Apps_Story>,
video
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JWQuOf6e0p0&feature=player_detailpage#t=3332s>)
* Oliver Keyes, with other panelists: /Eternal December: How Awful
Arguments are Killing the Wiki, and Why not to Make Them/
(abstract <https://wikimania2012.wikimedia.org/wiki/Submissions/Eternal_December:_How_Awful_Arguments_are_Killing_the_Wiki,_and_Why_not_to_Make_Them>,
video <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_Ng60B0mKU>)
* Maryana Pinchuk, Steven Walling: /“This is my voice”: the
motivations of highly active Wikipedians/ (abstract
<https://wikimania2012.wikimedia.org/wiki/Submissions/%E2%80%9CThis_is_my_voice%E2%80%9D:_the_motivations_of_highly_active_Wikipedians>,
slides <https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:WikimaniaMotivationsTalk.pdf>,
video
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_Ng60B0mKU&t=2352s>)
* Ryan Lane: /Wikimedia Labs and the state of our open source
infrastructure/ (abstract
<https://wikimania2012.wikimedia.org/wiki/Submissions/Wikimedia_Labs_and_the_state_of_our_open_source_infrastructure>)
* Amit Kapoor/Kul Takanao Wadhwa: /Reaching the Next Billion Users:
Wikipedia on mobile/ (abstract
<https://wikimania2012.wikimedia.org/wiki/Submissions/Reaching_the_Next_Billion_Users:_Wikipedia_on_mobile>,
slides
<https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Reaching_next_billion_users_Wikimania_Mobile_2012.pdf>,
video <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E6HOqFzPclI>) + panel (video
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E6HOqFzPclI&t=3140s>)
* Tomasz Finc, Dan Foy: /Removing the barriers of access to Wikipedia/
(abstract
<https://wikimania2012.wikimedia.org/wiki/Submissions/Removing_the_barriers_of_access_to_Wikipedia>,
slides
<https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Removing_the_barriers_of_access_to_Wikipedia_-_Wikimania_2012.pdf>,
video <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E6HOqFzPclI&t=1798s>)
* Niklas Laxström: /Translating the wiki way/ (abstract
<https://wikimania2012.wikimedia.org/wiki/Submissions/Translating_the_wiki_way>,
slides <https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Translating_the_wiki_way.pdf>,
video
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tqS3YSKfJqU&t=1685s>)
* Rob Lanphier: /Delivering MediaWiki faster, smoother and better/
(abstract
<https://wikimania2012.wikimedia.org/wiki/Submissions/Delivering_MediaWiki_faster,_smoother_and_better>,
video <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tqS3YSKfJqU&t=3438s>)
* Siko Bouterse, Sarah Stierch, Jonathan Morgan, Jon Harald Søby,
Peter Coombe, Tanvir Rahman, Steven Zhang: /Wikimedia Community
Fellows: what we're researching, piloting and building to help the
movement/ (abstract
<https://wikimania2012.wikimedia.org/wiki/Submissions/Wikimedia_Community_Fellows:_what_we%27re_researching,_piloting_and_doing_to_help_the_movement>,
slides: Introduction
<https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Fellowships_Wikimania_2012_Presentation.pdf>,
Teahouse
<https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Teahouse_presentation.pdf>,
dispute resolution
<https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Dispute_Resolution_on_the_English_Wikipedia.pdf>,
translation project
<https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Translation_fellowship.pdf>,
help
pages <https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wikimania_2012_-_Help_pages_fellowship.pdf>,
Small
Wiki Editor Engagement
<https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wikimania_2012_presentation_on_SWEEP.pdf>)
* Sumana Harihareswara, Guillaume Paumier, Rob Lanphier: /Transparency
and collaboration in Wikimedia engineering/ (abstract
<https://wikimania2012.wikimedia.org/wiki/Submissions/Transparency_and_collaboration_in_Wikimedia_engineering>,
video <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=21lR4kYXRmw>)
* Katie Horn: /Fundraising: Under the Hood/ (abstract
<https://wikimania2012.wikimedia.org/wiki/Submissions/Fundraising:_Under_the_Hood>,
video <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=21lR4kYXRmw&t=1605s>)
* Sarah Stierch: /10 women in 10 minutes/ (abstract
<https://wikimania2012.wikimedia.org/wiki/Submissions/10_women_in_10_minutes>,
slides
<https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:10_women_in_10_minutes_-_wikimania_2012_-_stierch.pdf>)
* Santhosh Thottingal: /Read and Write in your language/ (abstract
<https://wikimania2012.wikimedia.org/wiki/Submissions/Read_and_Write_in_your_language>,
slides <https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Read_And_Write_in_your_language.pdf>)
* Asaf Bartov: /Funds for Free Knowledge: Wikimedia Foundation
Grantmaking/ (abstract
<https://wikimania2012.wikimedia.org/wiki/Submissions/Funds_for_Free_Knowledge:_Wikimedia_Foundation_Grantmaking>,
slides <https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Funds_for_Free_Knowledge_-_Wikimania_2012.pdf>,
video <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v7pLyzAfcCs>)
* James Alexander: /The Bad Assumptions of the Copyright Discussion/
(abstract
<https://wikimania2012.wikimedia.org/wiki/Submissions/The_Bad_Assumptions_of_the_Copyright_Discussion>)
* Sumana Harihareswara: /What Does THAT mean? Engineering Jargon And
Procedures Explained/ (abstract
<https://wikimania2012.wikimedia.org/wiki/Submissions/What_Does_THAT_mean%3F_Engineering_Jargon_And_Procedures_Explained>)
* Roan Kattouw and Timo Tijhof: /ResourceLoader 2: The Future of
Gadgets/ (abstract
<https://wikimania2012.wikimedia.org/wiki/Submissions/ResourceLoader_2:_The_Future_of_Gadgets>,
slides <https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:ResourceLoader_Wikimania_2012.pdf>)
* Guillaume Paumier: /11 years of Wikipedia, or the Wikimedia history
crash course you can edit/ (abstract
<https://wikimania2012.wikimedia.org/wiki/Submissions/11_years_of_Wikipedia,_or_the_Wikimedia_history_crash_course_you_can_edit>,
video <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZRA1sKIBB_g>)
* Lori Byrd Phillips (with Àlex Hinojo and Andy Mabbett): /QRpedia and
you/ (abstract
<https://wikimania2012.wikimedia.org/wiki/Submissions/QRpedia_and_you>)
Beyond these, Wikimedia Foundation staff, fellows and contractors also
participated in various other panels.
The fundraising team recorded over 100 on-camera interviews with
Wikimedia editors, programmers and volunteers from all over the world.
Interviews are inspiring new editor appeals (and a short video about
Wikipedia), which we will showcase during the annual fundraiser.
== Technology ==
A detailed report of the Tech Department's activities for July 2012 can
be found at:
https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Wikimedia_engineering_report/2012/July
Department Highlights
Major news in July include:
* Engineering presence at Wikimania 2012 in Washington, D.C., and the
pre-Wikimania hackathon;
* the launch of Limn <https://github.com/wikimedia/limn>, an open
source dataviz toolkit developed by the Wikimedia analytics team;
* the deployment of Article Feedback Version 5
<https://blog.wikimedia.org/2012/07/10/article-feedback-v5-starts-wider-deployment-on-wikipedia/>
(which supports free-text feedback and moderation thereof) to 10% of
English Wikipedia articles
=== Events ===
*Wikimania <https://wikimania2012.wikimedia.org/wiki/>* and *Pre-Wikimania
hackathon <https://wikimania2012.wikimedia.org/wiki/Hackathon>* (10–15 July
2012, Washington, D.C. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington,_D.C.>, USA)
This year's pre-Wikimania Hackathon was special in that it had a
full track for newcomers, going beyond tutorials. The Hackathon was
a collaboration with OpenHatch, an open-source teaching non-profit.
The new efforts included appropriate first-time tasks to orient
newcomers into more advanced Wikipedia editing and tech
contribution, a laptop setup guide that steps attendees through the
process of configuring development environments, and constant
in-person assistance to help people past problems they encountered.
While at the event, we saw many people learning more about
templates, editing Wikipedia, and using and modifying bots to
improve the encyclopedia and media on it. At least 65 people signed
in, with surely more in attendance. During the main Wikimania
conference, a number of volunteer and staff gave talks and led
discussions
<https://wikimania2012.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Wikimania_submissions_about_technology>
about technology-related topics.
=== Operations ===
*Site infrastructure*
The team mostly worked behind the scenes in July. Notably, we
successfully integrated and tested the upgraded Varnish software
(with persistent cache patch) on some of our mobile caching servers.
They are working very well and the plan is to roll it widely in the
coming weeks.
*Object Store/Swift <http://wikitech.wikimedia.org/view/Swift>*
Migration to Swift is progressing to the final stages now that the
performance bottleneck issue identified in June has been resolved.
MediaWiki is now operating fully using Swift as the primary object
store for thumbnails (the legacy NFS system is relegated to a
secondary fail-over backup). The 'originals' (uploaded images and
multimedia contents) have been copied over to Swift as well, setting
the stage to migrate away from the NFS filer next month.
=== Features Engineering ===
*VisualEditor <https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/VisualEditor>*
<Image: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wikimedia_Foundation_Monthly_Metrics_Meeting_August_2,_2012-8757_11.jpg
Explaining the visual editor>
The VisualEditor (VE) team presented their work at Wikimania and
received a good deal of feedback from the community. The team
created a rough plan for the next three months' work
<https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/VisualEditor/2012-13_Q1_forward-look>.
The early version of VE on mediawiki.org was updated twice, fixing a
number of bugs and noticeably including the addition of support for
nested lists.
*Article feedback <https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Article_feedback>*
The team deployed Article Feedback
<https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Article_feedback/Version_5> on 10% of the
English Encyclopedia. This month, we developed final features
<https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Article_feedback/Version_5/Feature_Requirements>
for this tool, including the article feedback page
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:ArticleFeedbackv5/Golden-crowned_Sparrow>,
the central feedback page
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:ArticleFeedbackv5>, and the final
feedback form <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Francisco?aftv5_form=6>
(scroll to bottom of page). To guide users of this tool, we also
published a new video tour
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Article_Feedback_Tool/Version_5/Video>,
a walkthrough tutorial
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Feedback_walkthrough> and various
help pages
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Article_Feedback/Help/Editors>.
We are aiming for a full release to 100% of English Wikipedia by
October 2012 — with other wiki projects starting later this year.
*Page Curation| <https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Page_Curation>*
The team deployed an updated version of the new Page Curation
product (formerly called /Page Triage/) on the English Wikipedia. It
includes two main features: 1) the New Pages Feed
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/en:Special:NewPagesFeed>, a dynamic list of
new pages for review by community patrollers; and 2) the Curation
Toolbar, an optional panel on article pages, which enables editors
to get page info, mark a page as reviewed, tag it, mark it for
deletion, send WikiLove to page creators — or jump to the next page
on the list. We plan to pre-release this feature on the English
Wikipedia in mid-August — with a full release in September 2012.
=== Internationalization and Editor Engagement Experiments ===
*Internationalization and localization tools
<https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Internationalization_and_localization_tools>*
The team continued to work on the Universal Language Selector
<https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Universal_Language_Selector> and set up a
prototype <http://sandbox.translatewiki.net/wiki/Main_Page> to test
it. Development was completed on Translation memory and CLDR plurals
support and code review is pending. User experience testing of the
Translate extension <https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Extension:Translate>
is in progress to Translate UX enhancements. The WebFonts
<https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Extension:WebFonts> and Narayam
<https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Extension:Narayam> extensions were
deployed on Bengali Wikisource and Punjabi Wikipedia. Development
started on Project Milkshake
<https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/User:Santhosh.thottingal/jQuery_i18n_Spec>.
*Editor engagement experiments
<https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Editor_engagement_experiments>*
The Timestamp Position Modification
<https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Timestamp_Position_Modification>
experiment was completed, and initial analysis shows that adding the
timestamp on articles increases clicks on the History tab.
Development started to deliver post-edit feedback
<https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/post-edit_feedback> messages; this
experiment includes a proof-of-concept dry run of a new editor
bucketing strategy for delivering experimental treatments that was
deployed in advance of the full experiment. The team configured a
test environment on Labs, to be used for UI and functional
requirements validation by the team. The Wikimania conference was an
opportunity to interact with editors from the English Wikipedia, and
to define a new experiment related to cleanup templates.
=== Mobile Engineering ===
*Wiki Loves Monuments mobile application
<https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Wiki_Loves_Monuments_mobile_application>*
<Image: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wikimedia_Foundation_Monthly_Metrics_Meeting_August_2,_2012-8757_05.jpg
Thomasz Finc explains the Wiki Loves Monuments mobile application>
<Image: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wikimedia_Foundation_Monthly_Metrics_Meeting_August_2,_2012-8757_08.jpg
Thomasz Finc explains the potential effect of the Wiki Loves Monuments
mobile application>
Significant progress made at the Wikimania Hackathon in Washington
DC and elsewhere. The development team of Jon, Brion, Yuvi, Max,
Arthur improved the robustness of photo uploads, sped up monument
discovery, and polished the app extensively. We held a showcase to
demo our app to the WLM community and have released
<http://lists.wikimedia.org/pipermail/wikitech-l/2012-August/062084.html>
a first beta for Android.
*Mobile default for sister projects
<https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Mobile_default_for_sister_projects>*
We added three new projects and one new domain
<http://lists.wikimedia.org/pipermail/wikitech-l/2012-July/061776.html>
to be mobile default. Wikiquote, Wikibooks, Wikiversity, and
*.wikimedia.org are now equipped to better server our mobile users.
The development team is eager to hear back from our community about
what they would like to see from their projects on mobile. Our last
project to migrate will be commons
<https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Mobile_default_for_sibling_projects#Timeline>.
=== Platform Engineering ===
*Git conversion <https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Git/Conversion>*
We're in the process of evaluating Gerrit and its alternatives
<https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Git/Gerrit_evaluation> as a code review
tool. We upgraded our Gerrit instance to 2.4, which provided many
incremental fixes and small features (e.g. the "rebase" button), and
migrated the Gerrit database to our Ashburn datacenter, which
resulted in a big performance boost.
*Lua scripting <https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Lua_scripting>*
We've added a debug console to test code snippets. We believe we're
ready to deploy Lua to the WIkimedia cluster, starting with test2 in
August, followed by mediawiki.org. We plan to let Lua incubate on
mediawiki.org while we test the performance characteristics with key
templates, and work out a deployment plan for larger wikis that
includes community involvement.
== Fundraising ==
=== Major Gifts and Foundations ===
Secured a $100,000 3-year grant from the Charina Endowment Fund.
Revamped the categories in Civi to better capture the data we need.
Completed our annual report to the Sloan Foundation.
=== Fundraiser ===
<Image: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wikimania_2012_Jonathan_and_Victor.jpg
Jonathan Curiel and Victor Grigas setting up video equipment during
Wikimania to interview Wikipedians>
Wikimania! - The team recorded over 100 on-camera interviews with
Wikimedia editors, programmers and volunteers from all over the
world. Interviews are inspiring new editor appeals (and a short
video about Wikipedia), which we will showcase during the annual
fundraiser.
Photographed the Wikimedia servers that the Fundraising team is
always talking about in banners.
<Image: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wikimedia_Foundation_Servers-8055_11.jpg
User:Helpameout photographing the Wikimedia Servers>
Worked closely with Finance and Legal for reviewing/approving new
payment service providers.
Weekly testing continued:
http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fundraising_2012/We_Need_A_Breakthrough
Prepared for a fundraising test on Spanish Wikipedia to take place
the week of August 21. This will be the first of several tests that
will go up prior to the fundraiser kicking off. The goal is to
localize the campaign to the best of our ability, test our
infrastructure, and identify any kinks in the overall operation.
Hired Matt Walker, fundraising engineer. The fundraising tech team
is fully staffed and making much progress on implementing new
features for the 2012 fundraiser.
Joseph Seddon started as the Fundraising Translation Coordinator to
build up and support our volunteer translators so we can show our
fundraising messages and supporting materials (emails, info pages,
etc) to our users in their own language.
== Global Development ==
=== Global Development Highlights ===
* Anasuya Sengupta joins the Global Development Team as Director of
Global Learning and Grantmaking
* Announcement of Wikimedia Foundation's partnership with CIS (Center
for Internet and Society) to continue its work in India
* Launch of the Wikimedia Shop
* Communications support for Wikimania 2012 in Washington DC
* Launch of Wikipedia Zero in Kenya
* Launch of the FDC portal for Round 1, 2012-2013
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/FDC_portal>
=== Global Learning and Grantmaking ===
* Delivered a presentation on the Foundation's grantmaking at
Wikimania 2012
* Significant work supporting the FDC process and eligiblity assessments
* Started fiscal year 2012-13. $600K are allocated for Wikimedia
Grants this year, a significant increase over last year, especially
considering some of last year's grantees will be seeking funding
from the (separate) FDC budget this year.
==== Grants Awarded and Executed ====
* http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Grants:WM_MX/Start-Up
* http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Grants:The_John_Ernest_Foundation/2012_Wikisym_Conference
* http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Grants:CMNT/WikipediaMA
=== Fellowships ===
* Showcased current fellowship projects in a fellows panel
presentation
<https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Wikimania_2012_Fellows_session>
at Wikimania
* Evaluating open project ideasand
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Fellowships/Process#Open_project_ideas>
fellowship
applications to fill an expected open fellowship slot in Fall 2012.
* The July edition of the Fellowship News
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fellowship_News> has
complete updates on all fellowship projects, and a few highlights
are listed below.
==== Dispute Resolution ====
* Based on the results of DR findings so far, an easier way for
editors to file disputes has also been rolled out to the dispute
resolution noticeboard on English Wikipedia
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WP:DRN>. This and other changes will be
undergoing a trial there in August, and metrics are being collected
to see what impact these have.
* Steven Zhang held IRC office hours
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/IRC_office_hours/Office_hours_2012-07-28>
to discuss ongoing
DR work with the community.
==== Help Pages Redesign ====
* Peter released finalised results
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Help_Project/June_2012_survey>
from the help pages survey conducted in June.
* Usability testing on old help pages is nearly complete and new help
page designs are underway.
==== Small Wiki Editor Engagement ====
* Tanvir ran a survey on Bangla Wikipedia to learn from readers how to
best encourage more active editing and participation. About 1100
responses are giving us a clearer picture of their needs. The full
survey report will be available soon.
* Planning a first experiment to introduce a new kind of help pages
that provide step-by-step guidelines on basic Wikipedia editing
questions.
==== Teahouse ====
* Began a two week experiment
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Research:Teahouse/Invites> to
evaluate automated invitations as a feasible alternative to manual
invites, and created a new automated invite template
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teahouse/HostBot_Invitation>. Preliminary
results seem promising: in the week since July 23rd when HostBot
began sending out Teahouse invites, the average number of questions
per day has doubled and guest profiles are up by 300%.
* Other measures of Teahouse activity were relatively stable in July.
215 guests visited the Q&A page, half of whom were new editors.
Guests asked 172 questions. 23 Teahouse hosts participated overall,
and 13 participated per week on average. Complete July metrics are
available in the Teahouse lounge
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Teahouse/Host_lounge/Metrics>.
* Planning for a phase 2 sprint to improve hosting processes
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Research:Teahouse/Hosting> in
August, which will include some
redesigns of key Teahouse pages.
==== Translations ====
* A campaign to recruit translators for the new meta translation
system <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:TranslatorSignup>
was a success, with more
than 1200 new signups across more than 100 languages, despite being
targeted to only the top 20 languages. Updated statistics can be
seen on Toolserver <https://toolserver.org/%7Esiebrand/tnstats.php>.
* In the final weeks of his fellowship, Jon Harald has been helping
revamp the translation committee
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Communications_subcommittees/Trans/Revamp>,
which is
currently looking for new members. He is also finishing up
documentation of outcomes
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Jsoby/Fellowship> from the
meta translation project.
=== Editor Growth and Contribution Program ===
<Image: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Editor_Growth_and_Contribution_Program_logo.png>
Logo of the Editor Growth and Contribution Program>
Experiments continue on the Arabic Wikipedia Contribution Portal
<https://ar.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D9%88%D8%A8:%D8%A8%D9%88%D8%A7%D8%A8%D8%A9_%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85%D8%B4%D8%A7%D8%B1%D9%83%D8%A9>.
Analysis of the initial pilot phase of the project
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Editor_Growth_and_Contribution_Program/Contribution_portal_-_Phase_0>
is demonstrating early proof of concept - running banners that invite
readers to learn how to contribute and providing simple learning tools
for this purpose is encouraging a higher proportion of new accounts to edit.
=== Brazil Catalyst ===
==== Activities in events: Campus Party Recife 2012 and Wikimania ====
* At *Wikimania* there were two meetings that contributed to sharing
ideas: the three catalyst program groups (Arabic, Brazilian and
Portuguese, parts of the India Community) met to discuss challenges
and opportunities at their countries (Google Translation
<http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=ar&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fosamak.wordpress.com%2F2012%2F07%2F28%2Fwikimania-2012%2F>);
a Brazilian-Portuguese community meeting to discuss issues regarding
the Brazil Catalyst program (community facilitator role, supporting
community-led projects, planning activities based on resources and
experience).
* *Campus Party* Recife, meet-up involving about 12 people discussing
Wikipedia possibilities and the Wikimedia movement, workshop that
engaged 3 developers to develop new apps for Wikipedia, 2 volunteers
working on editing actitivies, panel on women in the IT field.
* *Conversations* with Casa de Cultura Digital - Santos
representatives, the Brazilian Steering Committee of Internet, as
well as the Pirate Party, and other communities such as Mozilla.
==== Community Engagement and activities ====
1. Community is actively collecting and analyzing data and proposing
activities and actions to increase editing in Wikipedia.
2. Brazilian Wikimedia community is still trying to organize WikiBrasil
2012 and wants to develop know-how and experience to host Wikimania
in the future: a volunteer traveled with his own resources to check
logistics and structure of Wikimania to be able to help in the
organization of events by the Brazilian community.
==== Brazil Education Program ====
* Concluded the recruitment of new professors for the second semester
of the Education Program in Brazil: we received 36 applications from
professors in less than one month with an open call and more than 80
application from volunteers to be Ambassadors in about 10 days using
a sitenotice.
* *Positive impressions*: great interest from professors (almost none
from our previous circles of acknowledgement) and volunteers,
spontaneous online media news on the open call
(http://www.estadao.com.br/noticias/vidae,wikipedia-convoca-professores-para-melhorar-verbetes,896314,0.htm
).
* *Challenges*:
1. Lack of intensive involvement of the community in the process of
selection (many editors did not volunteer to participate and
expressed skepticism)
2. Sustainability and institutionalization of the program
3. Coordinating more than 10 courses is a huge challenge for 1 - 3
contractors
4. Methodologies: creating articles in the main domain may create
conflicts between new editors and the community, but creating
articles outside the main domain may create work for staff and
Ambassadors
==== Office/Staff ====
1. Worked at the Hub in July
2. Everton's contract renewed
3. Meeting with community in Wikimania made us reconsider the hiring of
a community facilitator and we're now working to develop a more
specific role around data collection, development of tools and features.
=== US Cultural Partnerships ===
* Launched the GLAM-Wiki US Consortium
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:GLAM/US/Consortium> during GLAM
Night Out <https://wikimania2012.wikimedia.org/wiki/GLAM_Night_Out> at
Wikimania, and facilitated ongoing dialogue with cultural
professionals and Wikipedians about the direction this network will
take.
* Significant internal outreach for GLAM initiatives and needs during
Wikimania, including at the Wikipedia Loves Libraries
<https://wikimania2012.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia_Loves_Libraries>
workshop, the National GLAM Coordinators Panel, the State of GLAM in
the US talk, and in the Wikipedia Weekly podcast
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WP:WikipediaWeekly/Episode91>, in addition
to GLAM Night Out.
=== Mobile and Business Development ===
* Fully launched three new Wikipedia Zero programs with full free
access to entire Wikipedia on mobile including images with Orange in
the following territories: Uganda, Niger, and most recently in
Kenya. *We encourage community member in those countires that are on
Orange's networks to try them out and give us their feeback.*
* Ongoing testing and fixes allowed us to overcome two major
roadblocks including (1) resolving Opera Mini browser compatibility
issues with our WP Zero programs, and (2) providing ability to
support partners that want to provide free access to both .zero and
.m Wikipedia mobile sites.
* Project planning work on Wikipedia via text message (on USSD and
SMS): we plan to put this into production for our first pilot by
next month.
=== Wikipedia Education Program ===
* *Cairo Pilot wraps up successfully with conference*: Professors,
Ambassadors, students, and supporters of the Cairo Pilot of the
Wikipedia Education Program gathered in Egypt on July 4–5 to share
their experiences and celebrate the incredible accomplishments of
the students. Seven classes participated in the pilot last term,
with 54 students editing. Those students added the equivalent of 372
printed pages of content to 246 unique Arabic Wikipedia articles,
and the Cairo Pilot succeeded in confirming that the proof of
concept of students editing Wikipedia works in Egypt. See photos at
commons:Category:Cairo_Pilot_-_Celebration_Conference_July_2012
<https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Cairo_Pilot_-_Celebration_Conference_July_2012>
and read more about the conference and pilot on the Wikimedia blog
<http://blog.wikimedia.org/2012/07/08/wikipedia-education-program-cairo-pilot-conference/>.
See also a post on one professor's experience teaching with
Wikipedia on the Spanish and Arabic Wikipedias
<http://blog.wikimedia.org/2012/07/30/improving-arabic-and-spanish-wikipedia-articles-for-class-at-cairo-university/>.
* A crowd of more than 80 people interested in Wikipedia's use in
education around the world attended a *meet-up held during
Wikimania* last week. Co-hosted by the Wikimedia Foundation and the
Saylor Foundation, the event allowed people from around the world to
share their experiences using Wikipedia in classrooms and what they
hope to do in the future. A follow-up meeting delved more into
details of how to get programs started and sharing learnings, with
promises to provide more cross-country communication about programs
on-wiki. Photos from the event are available at
commons:Category:Wikimania_2012_Wikipedia_in_Education_Meet-Up
<https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Wikimania_2012_Wikipedia_in_Education_Meet-Up>.
* *Class assignment inspires growth of Kazakh Wikipedia*: Rauan
Kenzhekhanuly first started editing Wikipedia as a student in
Professor Nicco Mele's course at Harvard University on the first
term of the U.S. pilot of the Wikipedia Education Program, the
Public Policy Initiative. Rauan was so inspired by the assignment
that he returned to his native Kazakhstan and started invigorating
the community around growing the Kazakh Wikipedia. Wikipedia founder
Jimmy Wales recognized his efforts by naming him the Wikipedian of
the Year last year during Wikimania, an honor that included a travel
stipend for Rauan to attend Wikimania this year. Read more about
Rauan's work on a Wikimedia Foundation blog post
<http://blog.wikimedia.org/2012/07/05/class-assignment-inspired-wikipedian-of-the-year-to-grow-kazakh-wikipedia/>
published this month.
* The *Working Group for the United States and Canada
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Education_Working_Group>* – a
body of volunteers who will help spin out the programs from the
Wikimedia Foundation to a new organization so the programs can be
more volunteer-driven – met in person for the first time on July
16–17 in Washington, D.C. Working Group members split into task
forces to help develop a strategic plan for the future of the
programs, which will be open to community involvement along the way.
* *U.S. Ambassador blogs about transnational scholarship*: Georgetown
University Campus Ambassador Kelsey Brannan wrote a post for the
Wikimedia blog about how her work with Professor Adel Iskandar
starts a trend toward transnational scholarship at Georgetown.
Professor Iskandar's students wrote on topics related to the Arab
world, and he hopes to collaborate with professors in the Cairo
program to translate these articles to the Arabic Wikipedia as well.
Read Kelsey's blog post.
<http://blog.wikimedia.org/2012/07/23/from-sandbox-to-translation-an-overview-of-transnational-scholarship-at-georgetown-university/>
=== India Programs ===
The Wikimedia Foundation announced a partnership with the Center for
Internet and Society [1] <http://cis-india.org> to continue its work in
India. For more information about this change, please visit the FAQ
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/India_Program/India_Program_Announcement_and_FAQ_-_30_July_2012>,
or Barry's post on the Wikimedia Foundation Blog [2]
<http://blog.wikimedia.org/2012/08/01/wikimedia-foundation-awards-grant-to-centre-for-internet-and-society-to-expand-access-to-knowledge-in-india/>.
=== India Community Support ===
* Supporting new editors for GLAM Project on Hindi Wikipedia
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/hi:WP:CM>. More on Wikimedia blog
<https://blog.wikimedia.org/2012/07/24/chronicling-the-crafts-indias-first-glam-initiative>.
* Odia and Malayalam workshops in Delhi.
* Creating Typing scheme <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/pa:Help:Typing> for
Punjabi Wikipedia, Facebook group
<https://www.facebook.com/groups/PunjabiWikipedia> and page
<https://www.facebook.com/PunjabiWikipedia> creation and update and
community involvement for social media activities.
* First Punjabi Wikipedia workshop at Ludhiana.
=== Communications ===
The focus for the Communications team in July was Wikimania 2012 in
Washington, DC. Prior to the event, we supported the Wikimedia DC
organizing team as they prepared for the Wikimania press conference with
Jimmy Wales, Sue Gardner, representatives of the Wikimedia Foundation
Board of Trustees and plenary speaker Mary Gardiner. More than 40 media
outlets pre-registered or showed up directly at the event at George
Washington University's campus, interviewing a number of participants
and speakers (see the wonderful BBC editor profile story linked below).
The Communications team also organized a day of media interviews for
Jimmy Wales the Tuesday before Wikimania. It included roundtable
discussions with the Washington Post editors, columnists and reporters,
a similar roundtable and video interview with Politico, and an excellent
video piece with PBS Newshour (see below).
<Image: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wikimedia_Foundation_Monthly_Metrics_Meeting_August_2,_2012-8757_15.jpg
James Alexander explaining the Wikimedia Shop>
The Wikimedia Shop (http://shop.wikimedia.org) debuted to a positive
reception at Wikimania, and to the world via a blog post
<http://blog.wikimedia.org/2012/07/10/wikimedia-shop-starts-to-roll-out-to-the-public/>).
James Alexander introduced the shop to Wikimedians in person and gave
out all the official Wikimania t-shirts to the more than 1400
participants at the conference. Further, James solicited significant
feedback from the volunteer community for further merchandise, including
a number of new designs sketched out on the spot. As the online platform
for the shop expands, we'll continue to make the shop more accessible
and cost-effective for those outside of North America.
The focus for Communications continues to be increased production on the
Wikimedia blog, with more participation from our contributor community
and more articles in non-English languages.
==== Major announcements ====
In July, we announced the new Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees and
Elected Officers for 2012-2013.
http://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Press_releases/WMF_Board_Election_July_2012
==== Major Storylines in July ====
Increasing editors on Wikipedia (July 12th, 2012)
A central theme at Wikimania 2012 was the need to increase the total
active editors across Wikimedia projects. Significant press attention
followed several discussions at the event, including Jimmy's opening
plenary and Sue's Saturday plenary.
(US News & World Report)
http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2012/07/12/wikipedia-founder-worries-about-future-of-editorial-community
(Washington Post)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/technology/wikimania-hits-dc-as-wikipedia-faces-changes/2012/07/14/gJQAqRKxkW_story.html
The need to promote new administrators on English Wikipedia (July 2012)
The press wrote a number of articles based on a presentation by Andrew
Lih during Wikimania, which chronicled the decline in the rate of new
admins promoted on English Wikipedia over time.
(The Atlantic)
http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2012/07/3-charts-that-show-how-wikipedia-is-running-out-of-admins/259829/#
(Daily Mail)
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2174773/Will-Wikipedia-edit-existence-From-50-volunteer-admins-site-month-just-one.html?ito=feeds-newsxml
(BBC) http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-18886752
Increasing the number or women editors on Wikipedia
The Wikipedia Gender Gap was a prominent theme at Wikimania and in the
press surrounding Wikimania. Jimmy mentioned a controversy around the
notability of Kate Middleton's wedding dress, which set off a media flurry.
(Slate)
http://www.slate.com/blogs/future_tense/2012/07/13/kate_middleton_s_wedding_gown_and_wikipedia_s_gender_gap_.html
(NYMag)
http://nymag.com/daily/fashion/2012/07/does-wikipedia-have-a-fashion-problem.html
(Vogue, UK)
http://www.vogue.co.uk/news/2012/07/16/catherine-duchess-of-cambridge-wikipedia-page-debate
==== Other worthwhile reads ====
Russian Wikipedia blackout over parliamentary bill (CNN, 10 July, 2012)
http://www.cnn.com/2012/07/10/tech/web/russia-wikipedia-bill/index.html
Jimmy on PBS Newshour (10 July, 2012)
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/science/july-dec12/wikipedia_07-10.html
Wikipedia and Internet Freedoms (Reuters, 13, July, 2012)
http://in.reuters.com/article/2012/07/12/wikipedia-internet-freedoms-idINL2E8ICF6M20120712
English Wikipedia crosses 4 million article threshold (13 July, 2012)
(WMF Blog)
http://blog.wikimedia.org/2012/07/13/english-wikipedia-crosses-4-million-article-milestone/
Meet the men and women who edit Wikipedia (BBC, 14 July, 2012)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-18833763
Meet the Bots that Edit Wikipedia (BBC, 24 July, 2012)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-18892510
==== Wikipedia Signpost ====
For lots of detailed coverage and news summaries, see the
community-edited newsletter “Wikipedia Signpost” for July 2012:
* Volume 8, Issue 27, 2 July 2012
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Wikipedia_Signpost/Archives/2012-07-02>
* Volume 8, Issue 28, 9 July 2012
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Wikipedia_Signpost/Archives/2012-07-09>
* Volume 8, Issue 29, 16 July 2012
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Wikipedia_Signpost/Archives/2012-07-16>
* Volume 8, Issue 30, 23 July 2012
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Wikipedia_Signpost/Archives/2012-07-23>
* Volume 8, Issue 31, 30 July 2012
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Wikipedia_Signpost/Archives/2012-07-30>
==== WMF Blog posts ====
Twenty-nine blog posts in total for July 2012. A surge of new posts from
the Wikipedia Education Program team, including several important posts
in WMF priority regions, such as Arabic-language countries.
http://blog.wikimedia.org/2012/07/
Selections from July:
* Wikipedia ranks 1st in ACSI Customer Satisfaction Index for 3rd
straight year
<https://blog.wikimedia.org/2012/07/20/wikipedia-ranks-first-in-customer-satisfaction-for-third-straight-year/>
* Meet the Wikimedia Foundation Analytics Team
<https://blog.wikimedia.org/2012/07/25/meet-the-analytics-team/>
* Improving Arabic and Spanish Wikipedia articles for a class in Cairo
University
<https://blog.wikimedia.org/2012/07/30/improving-arabic-and-spanish-wikipedia-articles-for-class-at-cairo-university/>
==== Media Contact ====
https://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Press_room/Media_Contact#July_2012
== Human Resources ==
<Image: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:WMF_REQsnap-712_1.jpg
WMF staff snapshot for July 2012>
<Image: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:WMF_Contract712_map1.jpg
WMF contractor snapshot for July 2012>
HR is pleased to now have a full-time internal recruiter, Sangeeta
Prashar, who can build our strength in that area. We will focus on
engineering recruiting and improving our candidate experience.
=== Staff Changes ===
New Requisitions Filled
* Lynette Logan, Director of Administration (Administration)
* S Page, Software Engineer (Engineering)
* Sangeeta Prashar, Recruiting Manager (Human Resources)
* Anasuya Sengupta, Director of Global Learning and Grantmaking
(Global Development)
* Matthew Walker, Software Engineer – Fundraising (Engineering)
New Other Position Hires
* Vanessa Sanchez, Intern (Administration)
Conversions
* Sara Lasner, Development Outreach Manager (Fundraiser)
* Gabriel Wicke, Sr Software Developer (Engineering)
* Peter Youngmeister, Operations Engineer (Engineering)
New Contractors
* Rebecca Neumann (Global Development)
* Kevin Gorman (Global Development)
* Brittany Jones (Fundraiser)
* Srikanth Lakshmanan (Engineering)
Contract Extended
* Giovanni Ciampaglia (Engineering)
* Niklas Laxström (Engineering)
* Sage Ross (Global Development)
* Joseph Seddon (Fundraiser)
* Diederik Van Liere (Engineering)
* Susan Walling (Fundraiser)
Departure
* Jeremy Postlethwaite
Contract Ended
* Pavel Andreev
* Mariel Bird
* Luis Campos
* Karen Chelini
* Jimmy Chiu
* Daniel DeJarnatt
* Rodney Dunican
* Faris El-Gwely
* Brittany Jones
* Ayush Khanna
* Johanna “Petro” Leigh
* Mimi Li
* Jacqui Pastor
* Ricardo Saavedra
* Robert Schnautz
* Sarah Selim
* Essam Sharaf
Department Changes
* Melanie Brown joins Human Resources
New Postings
* Community Facilitator
* Executive Assistant to the Chief of Finance and Administration
* IT Systems Engineer
* Operations Engineer
* Operations Engineer (Systems & Storage)
* Software Engineer
* System Administrator
RFP
* Part Time System Administrator
=== Statistics ===
Total Requisitions Filled
July Actual: 118
July Total Plan: 137, Month Plan Hire: 25
July Filled: 8 (9 Reqs in Process), July Attrition: 2
FYTD Filled: 8, FYTD Attrition: 2
Remaining Open positions to fiscal year end: 56
=== Department Updates ===
Real-time feed for HR updates: http://identi.ca/wikimediaatwork or
http://twitter.com/wikimediaatwork
== Finance and Administration ==
We are pleased to welcome Lynette Logan as our new Director of
Administration.
We have been working on several projects this month:
* Optimizing our foreign exchange systems to increase flexibilty and
reduce cost
* We did a physical count and site visit at the Virginia data center.
Our thanks to Rob Halsell for a sucessful site visit and a
well-organized data center.
* We have been working on the eligibility criteria and methods for the
FDC process.
* We have received Board approval to proceed with putting part of our
cash reserves in a low cost bond portfolio working with an
investment manager.
== Legal and Community Advocacy ==
* Launch of Affiliate Guideline RFC
* Legal Review of several key contracts for the annual fundraiser
* Completion of the Payment Processing Chapters' Agreements
* Support and implementation of a new Financial delegation policy for WMF
* Signing of agreement for mobile in India
* Finalization of the internal contract approval process and launch of
new database
* Continued privacy review and recommendations
* Released donor data guidelines for fundraising staff
* Wikilegal:
o Copyright of images in German postage stamps
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikilegal/Copyright_of_Images_in_German_Postage_Stamps>
-
Jesse
o Sweat of the brow
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikilegal/Sweat_of_the_Brow> Will
o Copyright in Google translations
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikilegal/Copyright_for_Google_Translations>
- Will
o Copyright status of images hosted on US government websites
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikilegal/Copyright_Status_Of_Images_Hosted_On_US_Government_Websites>
- Peter
o Linking legal considerations
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikilegal/Linking_Legal_Considerations>
- Peter
* Cease and desist stats:
o Opened 23 cases
o Closed 6 cases
o 19 letters sent
o Total open cases 81
o Recovered @wikisource Twitter account after community request
* Metrics
o Contracts submitted: 36
o Trademark issues submitted: 14
o Approved: 3
o Pending: 8
o Denied: 3
== Visitors and Guests ==
1. Bence Damokos (Wikimedia Hungary)
2. Steven Zhang (Community Fellow)
3. Pete Forsyth (Wikistrategies)
4. Stella Yu (Stella Results)
5. Anya Shyrokova (Design for America, fellowship candidate)
6. Grant Joung (Thoughtworks)
7. Rene Resendez (Dell Financial Services)
8. Deborah Bezona (D. Bezona & Company)
9. Valerie Aurora (ADA Initiative, Co-founder)
10. Mary Gardiner (ADA Initiative, Co-founder)
11. Timo Tijhof (User:Krinkle, contractor based in Netherlands)
12. Andrew Garrett (User:Werdna, contractor based in Australia)
13. Jan Gerber (User:JanGerber, contractor based in Germany)
14. Liam Wyatt (User:Wittylama, GLAM)
15. Chiori Takahashi (JATV/LA Arts Productions - Worksight magazine
interview)
16. Shotaro Yamashita (Kokuyo - Worksight magazine interview - plus 5
crew members/editors)
17. Daisuke Ando (bridgeworks, LLC, Worksight magazine interview)
18. Mark Oppenheim (m/Oppenheim Associates)
19. Kelly Smith (Travel and Transport)
20. Mike Godwin (Legal Consultant)
21. Laura Lanzerotti (Bridgespan Group)
22. Libbie Lowndles-Dowling (Bridgespan Group)
23. Meera Chary (Bridgespan Group)
24. Monty Widenius (MariaDB, CEO)
25. Andrea (MariaDB)
26. Mina Nagy Takla (ict Qatar)
27. Sami Al-Mubarak (ict Qatar)
28. Andy Duncan (ThoughtWorks)
29. Natalya Berenshteyn (Creative Commons)
30. Andy Blanco (Creative Commons)
31. Tim Vollmer (Creative Commons)
32. Jessica Coates (Creative Commons)
33. Anna Daniel (Creative Commons)
34. Varun Aurora (OpenCurriculum)
35. James Gleick (Author/Journalist)
36. Brendan Corrigan (JP Morgan)
37. Ron Waliczek (JP Morgan)
38. Charu Gorrepati (JP Morgan)
39. Dawn Wojrarowski (JP Morgan)
40. Markus Beckedahl (group visit of German digital rights experts,
organized by Böll Foundation)
41. Ulf Buermeyer (group visit of German digital rights experts,
organized by Böll Foundation)
42. Dr. Jeanette Hofmann (group visit of German digital rights experts,
organized by Böll Foundation)
43. Konstantin von Notz (group visit of German digital rights experts,
organized by Böll Foundation)
44. Anne Roth (group visit of German digital rights experts, organized
by Böll Foundation)
45. Malte Spitz (group visit of German digital rights experts, organized
by Böll Foundation)
46. Christian Stoecker (SPIEGEL ONLINE / group visit of German digital
rights experts, organized by Böll Foundation)
47. Matthias Kolb (sueddeutsche.de / group visit of German digital
rights experts, organized by Böll Foundation)
48. Arne Jungjohann (Böll Foundation / group visit of German digital
rights experts)
49. Alice Iliynskaya (UC Berkeley Summer Session)
50. Savin Alexandz (UC Berkeley Summer Session)
51. Joseph Ng (UC Berkeley Summer Session)
52. Ondres Zaska (UC Berkeley Summer Session)
53. Qinzhi Liu (UC Berkeley Summer Session)
54. Kate Gavva (UC Berkeley Summer Session)
55. Svetlana Koshenkova (UC Berkeley Summer Session)
56. Svetlana Lakovleva (UC Berkeley Summer Session)
57. Tamas Meszoly (Wikimedia Hungary)
58. Itzik Edri (Wikimedia Israel)
59. Chris Johnson (visiting contractor)
60. Michael Peel (Secretary, Wikimedia UK)
61. Pete Forsyth (Wikistrategies)
62. David Peters (Exbrook)
63. Reza Musavi (Cushman & Wakefield)
64. Bob Kraynak (Cushman & Wakefield)
65. Bob McDonald (TOG Solutions)
--
Tilman Bayer
Senior Operations Analyst (Movement Communications)
Wikimedia Foundation
IRC (Freenode): HaeB
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