Pine, I think you raise some important questions below. Obviously there has been a lot going on in the last week, so I'd like to give this a "bump" and add a couple points:
On Thu, May 1, 2014 at 12:17 AM, ENWP Pine deyntestiss@hotmail.com wrote:
Will the Foundation prohibit chapters and other thematic organizations from the "creation of paid roles that have article writing as a core focus, regardless of who is initiating or managing the process" as a condition of receiving WMF funding and using the WMF trademarks?
I am not up to date on how often the WMF funds pass-through projects that include Wikipedian-in-Residence-like roles. But to whatever extent it does, I absolutely agree with Pine -- applying a litmus test of whether article writing is a core focus would be an inappropriate oversimplification of a complex subject. There are certainly cases where roles that are centrally focused on article writing could strongly advance to the Wikimedia mission. (In case anybody is surprised to hear me say this -- the concerns I voiced about the paid editing aspect of the Belfer Center project were very much based in the specifics of that case.)
I think carefully managed article writing can be done successfully by
chapters and other organizations, for example if a Wikimedia DC wanted to sponsor a Wikipedian in Residence at the National Institutes of Health to improve articles about cancer. The responsibility for training and supervision could rest with the chapter and the host organization, and the edits could be tagged for community review.
Excellent example. There are of course ways such a project could be designed that would be problematic -- for instance, insufficient disclosure, or a bullish attitude in adding controversial points -- but under the guidance of Wikimedia DC, whose board and staff include many longtime Wikipedians, I would have a high degree of confidence they would avoid such problems.
Pete posted some good ideas for WiRs in general in the Signpost last week: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Wikipedia_Signpost/2014-04-23/Op-ed .
Thank you, glad you liked that :)
The situation with Belfer had a lot of problems, but I don't think it should completely stop us from having Wikimedia-sponsored WiRs add content. That would be a bridge too far.
Agreed.
I want to point out something that stands out to me. This is not an outright contradiction, but it's a puzzling contrast. In an unrelated thread on this email list, Executive Director Sue Gardner recently said:
"Editorial policies [for WMF staff] are developed, and therefore also best-understood and best-enforced, not by the WMF but by the community." [1]
That is the WMF policy as it applies to WMF staff: essentially, no special rules, use your own judgment in interpreting how to best comply with community standards. But here, in the report Sue authored, it seems there is a very different standard for movement partners who seek funding or endorsement from the WMF:
"In the future, the Wikimedia Foundation will not support or endorse the creation of paid roles that have article writing as a core focus, regardless of who is initiating or managing the process." [2]
Again: this is not a direct contradiction, and it is entirely within the rights of the WMF to apply different standards to its own staff vs. to other organizations. But I do think it deserves some careful consideration, as to *why* such different standards would be appropriate.
Decision point #1 in the Belfer Center report is not something that is based in any Wikipedia policy. It does have a basis in the Wikipedian in Residence page on the Outreach Wiki.[3] That is an important page, and I believe many in the movement consider it to have the weight of a formal policy; but I don't. Elevating it from a best practice recommendation to an absolute rule is a significant step, and one that I don't believe should be taken lightly.
Pete [[User:Peteforsyth]]
[1] http://lists.wikimedia.org/pipermail/wikimedia-l/2014-April/071161.html
[2] https://outreach.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikipedian_in_Residence/Harvard_Universi...
[3] https://outreach.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikipedian_in_Residence#Core_characteris...