Wikimedia Forum
| ← Discussion pages | Wikimedia Forums | Archives → |
 The Wikimedia Forum is a central place for questions, announcements and other discussions about the Wikimedia Foundation and its projects. (For discussion about the Meta wiki, see Meta:Babel.) You can reply to a topic by clicking the "[edit]" link beside that section, or you can start a new discussion. |
 |
SpBot archives all sections tagged with {{Section resolved|1=~~~~}} and sections whose most recent comment is older than 30 days.
|
Feedback?[edit]
For the proposal of ADD pedia? Best. Ruggtn (talk) 10:14, 16 July 2021 (UTC)
WMF organizational structure[edit]
In the last weeks I have thinked about decision making and how far hierarchy is neccessary for that. After the Wikimedia Foundation does not have an CEO at the moment I have thinked about how far a CEO is needed or if there are other possibilities to make decisions. In the Wikimedia Projects there are only flat hierarchies. In the Wikimedia Foundation there are several levels of staff and so there is a in relation to the Wikimedia projects high hierarchy. From my point of view the currenct situation can be a chance to think about how far it is needed and possible to reorganize the Wikimedia Foundation to make sure that the employees can participate in the decisions to avoid decisions that are done without a clearer understanding of a situation. From my point of view maybe one change could be to create a leader team instead of one CEO to reduce hierarchy. There are examples of companies with several chiefs responsible for different topics. This is from my point of view a good thing. I asked a question on today at the conversation about the Annual Plan if it is planned to implement something like a work council at the Wikimedia Foundation for the representation of the employees and as far as I have understand there are plans to do that. What do you think about the structure of the Wikimedia Foundation. Do you think that there is a lot of hierarchy or not and what do you think about the idea of having a team that leads the Wikimedia Foundation instead of one CEO. As a volunteer I am interested in good working conditions for the employees and I also like that there are low hierarchies at the Wikimedia Foundation. It is from my point of view for employees more atractive to work with low hierarchy if there is a clear mission as it is in the Wikimedia Foundation.--Hogü-456 (talk) 19:42, 26 July 2021 (UTC)
Blocking Wikimedia projects in Iran[edit]
Iranian parliament has passed a law according to which the general management of the Internet will be handed over to the armed forces and the situation of the Iranian Internet will become something between North Korea and China.[1] According to the plan, foreign platforms must either be officially active in Iran and comply with the requests of Iran's security agencies or will be blocked. I have no doubt that they will block Wikipedia and all other projects in order to get rid of all its political and sexual content and establish their own controlled encyclopedia. Transparency is needed, what is the foundation's plan for this? --IamMM (talk) 07:08, 31 July 2021 (UTC)
Call for Candidates for the Movement Charter Drafting Committee (Aug 2 - Sept 1, 2021)[edit]
The call for candidates for the Movement Charter Drafting Committee is now open. The full announcement is below. Xeno (WMF) (talk) 15:51, 2 August 2021 (UTC)
Movement Strategy announces the Call for Candidates for the Movement Charter Drafting Committee. The Call opens August 2, 2021 and closes September 1, 2021.
The Committee is expected to represent diversity in the Movement. Diversity includes gender, language, geography, and experience. This comprises participation in projects, affiliates, and the Wikimedia Foundation.
English fluency is not required to become a member. If needed, translation and interpretation support is provided. Members will receive an allowance to offset participation costs. It is US$100 every two months.
We are looking for people who have some of the following skills:
- Know how to write collaboratively. (demonstrated experience is a plus)
- Are ready to find compromises.
- Focus on inclusion and diversity.
- Have knowledge of community consultations.
- Have intercultural communication experience.
- Have governance or organization experience in non-profits or communities.
- Have experience negotiating with different parties.
The Committee is expected to start with 15 people. If there are 20 or more candidates, a mixed election and selection process will happen. If there are 19 or fewer candidates, then the process of selection without election takes place.
Will you help move Wikimedia forward in this important role? Submit your candidacy here. Please contact strategy2030
wikimedia.org with questions.
Is it possible to propose and make a global restriction for upload of files licensed GFDL-only?[edit]
Since 2009 GFDL have not been seen as a good license per licensing update vote result and subsequent (May 2009) Wikimedia Foundation Board resolution. Some wikis have restricted/banned uploads of files licensed GFDL-only. For example Commons as of 15 October 2018 and English Wikipedia as of 1 August 2021.
During a discussion if Commons should change the cutoff date someone suggested that there was should be a global ban/restriction for files licensed GFDL-only first. My question is if that would be possible or it would require an update to foundation:Resolution:Licensing policy? --MGA73 (talk) 06:53, 8 August 2021 (UTC)
- @MGA73: I changed the text (in bold) to what I think you meant. — Alexis Jazz (talk or ping me) 11:15, 8 August 2021 (UTC)
Should wikis follow U. S. law or not + question about FOP etc.[edit]
In Talk:Wikimedia_Foundation_Legal_department#Question_about_copyright_for_wikis and Talk:Copyright#Copyright_on_wiki_projects I asked questions about now free wikis are to make their own rules about copyright.
For example I noted that Legal/Legal_Policies#Applicable_Law say that WMF "may request" that a local wiki policy is compliant with U.S. law. That could be read like a wiki DOES NOT have to follow U. S. law UNLESS WMF REQUEST that they do.
Some wikis host photos of buildings and statues not covered by FOP. Is that for example okay?
Can wikis host files that are free in their home country but not in the U. S.?
I visit many wikis to check files but it is sometimes hard to persuade local wikis to delete the files when there is no clear answer about how much they can decide on their own.
Can anyone answer the questions or tell me how I find anyone that can? --MGA73 (talk) 13:02, 11 August 2021 (UTC)
New Wikipedia Library collections and design update (August 2021)[edit]
Hello Wikimedians!
The Wikipedia Library is pleased to announce the addition of new collections, alongside a new interface design. New collections include:
- Cabells – Scholarly and predatory journal database
- Taaghche - Persian language e-books
- Merkur, Musik & Ästhetik, and Psychologie, Psychotherapie, Psychoanalyse - German language magazines and journals published by Klett-Cotta
- Art Archiv, Capital, Geo, Geo Epoche, and Stern - German language newspapers and magazines published by Gruner + Jahr
Additionally, De Gruyter and Nomos have been centralised from their previous on-wiki signup location on the German Wikipedia. Many other collections are freely available by simply logging in to The Wikipedia Library with your Wikimedia login!
We are also excited to announce that the first version of a new design for My Library was deployed this week. We will be iterating on this design with more features over the coming weeks. Read more on the project page on Meta.
Lastly, an Echo notification will begin rolling out soon to notify eligible editors about the library (T132084). If you can translate the notification please do so at TranslateWiki!
--The Wikipedia Library Team 13:23, 11 August 2021 (UTC)
- This message was delivered via the Global Mass Message tool to The Wikipedia Library Global Delivery List.