Grants talk:IdeaLab/Reimagining WMF grants/UserTargets
Add topicLatest comment: 8 years ago by Fæ in topic Opt in or opt out?
Opt in or opt out?[edit]
Re: diff
The norm for surveys and marketing is to ensure that participants opt in for unsolicited correspondence. Could someone point me to where direct messages of this kind have been exempted by the Wikimedia community from this best practice? --Fæ (talk) 09:39, 19 August 2015 (UTC)
- Hi Fæ. The changes in the Reimagining WMF grants idea are extensive and would affect a lot of people. As such, we are notifying people who have had a fairly active recent level of participation in the Grants: namespace, to be sure that relevant stakeholders are informed and have the opportunity to participate in this community consultation. Our intention is to communicate early about potential changes that folks who actively participate in this arena are likely to care about. If you’d like to be removed from the list, we won’t contact you again. I JethroBT (WMF) (talk) 18:08, 19 August 2015 (UTC)
- Let's just try this once more "The norm for surveys and marketing is to ensure that participants opt in for unsolicited correspondence", do you disagree with that statement? Thanks --Fæ (talk) 10:30, 5 December 2015 (UTC)
- @Fæ: I don't know what the norm is, in honesty, but I don't have any problem acknowledging the norm being opt-in if that's the case. Generally speaking, I acknowledge that opt-in methods carry a lot of benefits-- people who are invited to check out some survey or another are more likely to be motivated and participate, it gives agency to the recipient to decide how they want to engage. The fundamental concern I have with opt-in methods is that they yield a reduced level of participation, which then begs the question, does the resulting sample represent the communities we are trying to engage and support? And consequently, how meaningful or useful can our conclusions be if our results don't represent those communities? I also know opt-in/opt-out is a long-standing debate, but I'd like to explore this issue more, and see if there is some way to both conduct responsible and effective consultations while also ensuring that project contributors are not burdened with various requests for their feedback. I JethroBT (WMF) (talk) 19:33, 6 December 2015 (UTC)
- Thank you for a second reply. I think this question has run its course.
- From my viewpoint, this appears to be putting the desired outcome for high participation above using contributors and their data in the most ethical way. In the long term I would rather support a charitable organization that chooses to behave in the most appropriately ethical way, rather than taking other paths because of transitional desired management performance targets or non-critical commercial incentives. This may not be a case study to push for changes in WMF ethical values, however it does add to the collection of sub-par behaviours that concern me, and make me doubt the value of my investment as an unpaid volunteer. --Fæ (talk) 09:37, 7 December 2015 (UTC)
- @Fæ: I don't know what the norm is, in honesty, but I don't have any problem acknowledging the norm being opt-in if that's the case. Generally speaking, I acknowledge that opt-in methods carry a lot of benefits-- people who are invited to check out some survey or another are more likely to be motivated and participate, it gives agency to the recipient to decide how they want to engage. The fundamental concern I have with opt-in methods is that they yield a reduced level of participation, which then begs the question, does the resulting sample represent the communities we are trying to engage and support? And consequently, how meaningful or useful can our conclusions be if our results don't represent those communities? I also know opt-in/opt-out is a long-standing debate, but I'd like to explore this issue more, and see if there is some way to both conduct responsible and effective consultations while also ensuring that project contributors are not burdened with various requests for their feedback. I JethroBT (WMF) (talk) 19:33, 6 December 2015 (UTC)
- Let's just try this once more "The norm for surveys and marketing is to ensure that participants opt in for unsolicited correspondence", do you disagree with that statement? Thanks --Fæ (talk) 10:30, 5 December 2015 (UTC)