Talk:Ohio Wikimedians User Group/Archive 1

From Meta, a Wikimedia project coordination wiki

Congratulations

Congratulations on going through the user group process and getting recognition. You have had cool projects since you started. Blue Rasberry (talk) 11:47, 26 July 2016 (UTC)

I second the congratulations! It was a pleasure to meet Addis at a Wikimedia NYC WikiWednesday recently. As a Wikimedian born in Ohio, I am so happy there is now an Ohio Wikimedians User Group! --Lange.lea (talk) 15:04, 26 July 2016 (UTC)
@Bluerasberry: @Lange.lea: Thank you both very much! We're looking forward to what the future holds. ~SuperHamster Talk Contribs 05:32, 27 July 2016 (UTC)

Planning: Groups, Newsletters, and Meetings

@SuperHamster, AddisWang, Rimmel.Edits, Parsecboy, Malik Shabazz, Mikeatnip, Fritzmann2002, and Stevexu95:

Hello everyone! Thank you very much for signing up for the Ohio Wikimedians User Group. As you may have noticed, we've formed in just the last few months - which means there is a lot of room for growth :)

I've created an unfinalized list of ideas and proposals I'd like to implement in the coming weeks. Please feel free to provide thoughts, comments, and suggestions within each subsection - and if you have your own ideas, feel free to tack them onto the list. Thank you! ~SuperHamster Talk Contribs 00:24, 29 September 2016 (UTC)

Member groups

To get a better idea of each member's level of interest in participating in the Group, I figure it is a good idea to have two types of membership:

  • General Members are active Wikimedians who are interested in the Ohio Wikimedians User Group movement and events; they would like to stay informed of updates through the newsletter.
  • Organizing Members are more involved in the organizing aspect of the User Group, whether it is contributing to newsletters, running social media, and/or organizing events in Ohio. Organizing Members would be expected to participate in regular online group meetings.
    • The Organizing Members could have a Chief and Vice Chief, who are responsible for ensuring the Group works towards its objectives, set up meetings, etc.

~SuperHamster Talk Contribs 00:24, 29 September 2016 (UTC)

I'd just like to be a general member. I just want to be a part of some Ohio-related collaboration. If you need help making articles or the like, I'd be more than happy to help, but I'm not really available for online or irl meetups, etcetera. Fritzmann2002 (talk) 12:40, 29 September 2016 (UTC)
@Fritzmann2002: Great, no problem! Right now I'm just trying to formulate a plan and hear thoughts; I figure once these are finalized, users can add themselves to whichever group they'd like to be a part of on the user group page. ~SuperHamster Talk Contribs 13:27, 29 September 2016 (UTC)
Since we're a small/new group, I figure we'll hold off on having distinct groups until it's necessary. Might as well keep it simple :) ~SuperHamster Talk Contribs 09:30, 8 February 2017 (UTC)

Monthly newsletter

To keep members engaged and informed, I'd like to create a series of monthly newsletters. Some of its contents could include:

  • Upcoming Wikimedia events that are of interest to Ohioans
  • Accomplishments within the last month (WikiProject Ohio article improvements, new images of Ohio, etc.)
  • Featured image of Ohio
  • "Did you know?" section
  • More?

The newsletter could be distributed through both talk pages and e-mail. ~SuperHamster Talk Contribs 00:24, 29 September 2016 (UTC)

I think a "Topic of the Month" section would be a good addition. Just some topic within Ohio (ex: birds, a specific county, bridges, companies, and so on) that would be the focus for that month for the user group. Fritzmann2002 (talk) 12:44, 29 September 2016 (UTC)
I think Accomplishments and Featured Image could be a bit bureaucratic and overlapped with WikiProject. I think we can just send some message (maybe thru massmessage) about what's going on and what will happen, in a monthly basis, considering our user group is bit small and does not have that much audience. We can invest some more time if we think there is a sufficient number of members or a simple message can not express everything we want to discuss and inform our members.--AddisWang (talk) 15:53, 29 September 2016 (UTC)
First newsletter has gone out. Feel free to leave an feedback here. March's newsletter skeleton has also been set up; anyone is free to contribute to it. ~SuperHamster Talk Contribs 10:16, 8 February 2017 (UTC)

Meetings

As we continue to grow, I figure it would be best to have regular online meetings for our Organizing Members. Since we're just starting out, I think monthly meetings would be sufficient. ~SuperHamster Talk Contribs 00:24, 29 September 2016 (UTC)

I would proposal that we should have some kind of tradition to have an offline annual meeting/ event.--AddisWang (talk) 15:48, 29 September 2016 (UTC)
Wiknic would be great for this in the summer. ~SuperHamster Talk Contribs 10:16, 8 February 2017 (UTC)

WikiProject United States: 50,000 Challenge

You are invited to participate in the 50,000 Challenge, aiming for 50,000 article improvements and creations for articles relating to the United States. This effort began on November 1, 2016 and to reach our goal, we will need editors like you to participate, expand, and create. See more here!

-Another Believer (talk) 03:00, 13 November 2016 (UTC)

@Another Believer: Thanks for the invite! I've added it to our events list, and will also be including it in our newsletter that will go out in the coming days. Cheers, ~SuperHamster Talk Contribs 09:36, 13 November 2016 (UTC)

Monthly meetings

@AddisWang, Rimmel.Edits, Parsecboy, Malik Shabazz, Mikeatnip, Fritzmann2002, and Stevexu95:

Hi all! I'd like to gauge interest in monthly virtual meetings, which would probably last less than 30 minutes and run through Google Hangouts. The goal of these meetings will be to discuss happenings around the state, plan/raise awareness of events, and discuss the contents of each upcoming newsletter. We'd also plan for larger initiatives, such as Wiki Loves Monuments. This would also be a great opportunity to get to know some fellow Ohio Wikimedians :)

If you're interested, could you reply below with a quick affirmative? Thanks, ~SuperHamster Talk Contribs 09:46, 8 February 2017 (UTC)

Sounds good! Rimmel.Edits (talk) 18:38, 8 February 2017 (UTC)
I agree. Malik Shabazz (talk) 23:09, 11 February 2017 (UTC)
Looking forward Aharon (talk) 02:42, 14 February 2017 (UTC)
@Rimmel.Edits, Malik Shabazz, and Aharon: Thanks for the interest all! Let's try to set up a time to meet next week? I have created a Doodle poll here; if you haven't used it before, simply click to expand all options, enter your name/username, and select whichever times you're available for a meeting. If everyone can spend a few minutes filling it out in the next couple days, that would be great. If next week is out of the question, feel free to comment below we can do it later in the month. I don't think our first meeting should last more than 30 minutes - topics I can think of to discuss are the three Art+Feminism events happening around the state, potential photo events later this spring, and just general future planning. ~SuperHamster Talk Contribs 08:37, 2 March 2017 (UTC)

De-Recognition of Affiliates with Long-standing Non-Compliance

Expand to view content

This is an update from the Wikimedia Affiliations Committee. Translations are available.

Recognition as a Wikimedia affiliate - a chapter, thematic organization, or user group - is a privilege that allows an independent group to officially use the Wikimedia name to further the Wikimedia mission. While most Wikimedia affiliates adhere to the basic compliance standards set forth in their agreements with the Wikimedia Foundation, a protocol has been developed to address the exceptional cases when a Wikimedia affiliate does not meet basic compliance standards and their continued recognition as a Wikimedia affiliate presents a risk to the Wikimedia movement.

In the past year, the Affiliations Committee - with support from Wikimedia Foundation staff - has made a concerted effort to address a handful of chapters with long-standing issues of non-compliance. As a result, in the coming days and months, a small number of chapters that have been unable to return to compliance through their efforts in the past year will not have their chapter agreements renewed. As a consequence, these organizations will no longer have the additional rights to use the Wikimedia trademarks, including the Wikimedia name, that had been granted under those agreements.

If you have questions about what this means for community members in the affected affiliates’ region or language areas, we have put together a basic FAQ. The FAQ talk page is available for additional questions and comments, and the Affiliations Committee is happy to answer questions directly.

Posted by MediaWiki message delivery on behalf of the Affiliations Committee, 15:54, 13 February 2017 (UTC) • Please help translate to your language • Get help • Subscribe or unsubscribe.

Review of initial updates on Wikimedia movement strategy process

Expand to view content

Note: Apologies for cross-posting and sending in English. Message is available for translation on Meta-Wiki.

The Wikimedia movement is beginning a movement-wide strategy discussion, a process which will run throughout 2017. For 15 years, Wikimedians have worked together to build the largest free knowledge resource in human history. During this time, we've grown from a small group of editors to a diverse network of editors, developers, affiliates, readers, donors, and partners. Today, we are more than a group of websites. We are a movement rooted in values and a powerful vision: all knowledge for all people. As a movement, we have an opportunity to decide where we go from here.

This movement strategy discussion will focus on the future of our movement: where we want to go together, and what we want to achieve. We hope to design an inclusive process that makes space for everyone: editors, community leaders, affiliates, developers, readers, donors, technology platforms, institutional partners, and people we have yet to reach. There will be multiple ways to participate including on-wiki, in private spaces, and in-person meetings. You are warmly invited to join and make your voice heard.

The immediate goal is to have a strategic direction by Wikimania 2017 to help frame a discussion on how we work together toward that strategic direction.

Regular updates are being sent to the Wikimedia-l mailing list, and posted on Meta-Wiki. Beginning with this message, monthly reviews of these updates will be sent to this page as well. Sign up to receive future announcements and monthly highlights of strategy updates on your user talk page.

Here is a review of the updates that have been sent so far:

More information about the movement strategy is available on the Meta-Wiki 2017 Wikimedia movement strategy portal.

Posted by MediaWiki message delivery on behalf of the Wikimedia Foundation, 20:27, 15 February 2017 (UTC) • Please help translate to your language • Get help

Overview #2 of updates on Wikimedia movement strategy process

Note: Apologies for cross-posting and sending in English. This message is available for translation on Meta-Wiki.

As we mentioned last month, the Wikimedia movement is beginning a movement-wide strategy discussion, a process which will run throughout 2017. This movement strategy discussion will focus on the future of our movement: where we want to go together, and what we want to achieve.

Regular updates are being sent to the Wikimedia-l mailing list, and posted on Meta-Wiki. Each month, we are sending overviews of these updates to this page as well. Sign up to receive future announcements and monthly highlights of strategy updates on your user talk page.

Here is a overview of the updates that have been sent since our message last month:

More information about the movement strategy is available on the Meta-Wiki 2017 Wikimedia movement strategy portal.

Posted by MediaWiki message delivery on behalf of the Wikimedia Foundation, 19:42, 9 March 2017 (UTC) • Please help translate to your language • Get help

We invite you to join the movement strategy conversation (now through April 15)

This message, "We invite you to join the movement strategy conversation (now through April 15)", was sent through multiple channels by Gregory Varnum on 15 and 16 of March 2017 to village pumps, affiliate talk pages, movement mailing lists, and MassMessage groups. A similar message was sent by Nicole Ebber to organized groups and their mailing lists on 15 of March 2017. This version of the message is available for translation and documentation purposes

Dear Wikimedians/Wikipedians:

Today we are starting a broad discussion to define Wikimedia's future role in the world and develop a collaborative strategy to fulfill that role. You are warmly invited to join the conversation.

There are many ways to participate, by joining an existing conversation or starting your own:

Track A (organized groups): Discussions with your affiliate, committee or other organized group (these are groups that support the Wikimedia movement).

Track B (individual contributors): On Meta or your local language or project wiki.

This is the first of three conversations, and it will run between now and April 15. The purpose of cycle 1 is to discuss the future of the movement and generate major themes around potential directions. What do we want to build or achieve together over the next 15 years?

We welcome you, as we create this conversation together, and look forward to broad and diverse participation from all parts of our movement.

Sincerely,

Nicole Ebber (Track A Lead), Jaime Anstee (Track B Lead), & the engagement support teams

05:00, 18 March 2017 (UTC)

Start of the 2017 Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees elections

Please accept our apologies for cross-posting this message. This message is available for translation on Meta-Wiki.

On behalf of the Wikimedia Foundation Elections Committee, I am pleased to announce that self-nominations are being accepted for the 2017 Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees Elections.

The Board of Trustees (Board) is the decision-making body that is ultimately responsible for the long-term sustainability of the Wikimedia Foundation, so we value wide input into its selection. More information about this role can be found on Meta-Wiki. Please read the letter from the Board of Trustees calling for candidates.

The candidacy submission phase will last from April 7 (00:00 UTC) to April 20 (23:59 UTC).

We will also be accepting questions to ask the candidates from April 7 to April 20. You can submit your questions on Meta-Wiki.

Once the questions submission period has ended on April 20, the Elections Committee will then collate the questions for the candidates to respond to beginning on April 21.

The goal of this process is to fill the three community-selected seats on the Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees. The election results will be used by the Board itself to select its new members.

The full schedule for the Board elections is as follows. All dates are inclusive, that is, from the beginning of the first day (UTC) to the end of the last.

  • April 7 (00:00 UTC) – April 20 (23:59 UTC) – Board nominations
  • April 7 – April 20 – Board candidates questions submission period
  • April 21 – April 30 – Board candidates answer questions
  • May 1 – May 14 – Board voting period
  • May 15–19 – Board vote checking
  • May 20 – Board result announcement goal

In addition to the Board elections, we will also soon be holding elections for the following roles:

  • Funds Dissemination Committee (FDC)
    • There are five positions being filled. More information about this election will be available on Meta-Wiki.
  • Funds Dissemination Committee Ombudsperson (Ombuds)
    • One position is being filled. More information about this election will be available on Meta-Wiki.

Please note that this year the Board of Trustees elections will be held before the FDC and Ombuds elections. Candidates who are not elected to the Board are explicitly permitted and encouraged to submit themselves as candidates to the FDC or Ombuds positions after the results of the Board elections are announced.

More information on this year's elections can be found on Meta-Wiki. Any questions related to the election can be posted on the election talk page on Meta-Wiki, or sent to the election committee's mailing list, board-elections(at)wikimedia.org.

On behalf of the Election Committee,
Katie Chan, Chair, Wikimedia Foundation Elections Committee
Joe Sutherland, Community Advocate, Wikimedia Foundation

Posted by MediaWiki message delivery on behalf of the Wikimedia Foundation Elections Committee, 03:35, 7 April 2017 (UTC) • Please help translate to your language • Get help

Voting has begun in 2017 Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees elections

This is a message from the Wikimedia Foundation Elections Committee. Translations are available.

Voting has begun for eligible voters in the 2017 elections for the Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees.

The Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees is the ultimate governing authority of the Wikimedia Foundation, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization registered in the United States. The Wikimedia Foundation manages many diverse projects such as Wikipedia and Commons.

The voting phase lasts from 00:00 UTC May 1 to 23:59 UTC May 14. Click here to vote. More information on the candidates and the elections can be found on the 2017 Board of Trustees election page on Meta-Wiki.

On behalf of the Elections Committee,
Katie Chan, Chair, Wikimedia Foundation Elections Committee
Joe Sutherland, Community Advocate, Wikimedia Foundation

Posted by the MediaWiki message delivery • Translate • Get help

19:02, 3 May 2017 (UTC)

Join the next cycle of Wikimedia movement strategy discussions (underway until June 12)

Message is available for translation on Meta-Wiki

The Wikimedia movement strategy core team and working groups have completed reviewing the more than 1800 thematic statements we received from the first discussion. They have identified 5 themes that were consistent across all the conversations - each with their own set of sub-themes. These are not the final themes, just an initial working draft of the core concepts.

You are invited to join the online and offline discussions taking place on these 5 themes. This round of discussions will take place between now and June 12th. You can discuss as many as you like; we ask you to participate in the ones that are most (or least) important to you.

Here are the five themes, each has a page on Meta-Wiki with more information about the theme and how to participate in that theme's discussion:

On the movement strategy portal on Meta-Wiki, you can find more information about each of these themes, their discussions, and how to participate.

Posted by MediaWiki message delivery on behalf of the Wikimedia Foundation • Please help translate to your language • Get help

19:24, 16 May 2017 (UTC)

Start of the 2017 Wikimedia Foundation Funds Dissemination Committee elections

Translations of this message are available on Meta-Wiki.

On behalf of the Wikimedia Foundation Elections Committee, we are pleased to announce that self-nominations are being accepted for the 2017 Wikimedia Foundation Funds Dissemination Committee and Funds Dissemination Committee Ombudsperson elections. Please read the letter from the Wikimedia Foundation calling for candidates at on the 2017 Wikimedia Foundation elections portal.

Funds Dissemination Committee
The Funds Dissemination Committee (FDC) makes recommendations about how to allocate Wikimedia movement funds to eligible entities. There are five positions being filled. More information about this role can be found at the FDC elections page.

Funds Dissemination Committee Ombudsperson
The Funds Dissemination Committee Ombudsperson receives complaints and feedback about the FDC process, investigates complaints at the request of the Board of Trustees, and summarizes the investigations and feedback for the Board of Trustees on an annual basis. One position is being filled. More information about this role can be found at the FDC Ombudsperson elections page.

The candidacy submission phase will last until May 28 (23:59 UTC).

We will also be accepting questions to ask the candidates until May 28. You can submit your questions on Meta-Wiki. Once the questions submission period has ended on May 28, the Elections Committee will then collate the questions for the candidates to respond to.

The goal of this process is to fill the five community-selected seats on the Wikimedia Foundation Funds Dissemination Committee and the community-selected ombudsperson. The election results will be used by the Board itself to make the appointments.

The full schedule for the FDC elections is as follows. All dates are inclusive, that is, from the beginning of the first day (UTC) to the end of the last.

  • May 15 (00:00 UTC) – May 28 (23:59 UTC) – Nominations
  • May 15 – May 28 – Candidates questions submission period
  • May 29 – June 2 – Candidates answer questions
  • June 3 – June 11 – Voting period
  • June 12–14 – Vote checking
  • June 15 – Goal date for announcing election results

More information on this year's elections can be found at the 2017 Wikimedia Foundation elections portal.

Please feel free to post a note about the election on your project's village pump. Any questions related to the election can be posted on the talk page on Meta-Wiki, or sent to the election committee's mailing list, board-elections(at)wikimedia.org.

On behalf of the Election Committee,
Katie Chan, Chair, Wikimedia Foundation Elections Committee
Joe Sutherland, Community Advocate, Wikimedia Foundation

Posted by the MediaWiki message delivery • Translate • Get help

21:03, 23 May 2017 (UTC)

Learning Quarterly: October 2017

L&E Newsletter / Volume 4 / Issue 14 / October 2017
 Learning Quarterly

Stay tuned
blogs, events
& more!

Notification of Past Due Reporting

Greetings, This is a notification to bring to your attention that your organization is currently past due on its required annual reporting. User Groups are required to submit an annual activity report covering the entirety of the 12-month agreement period in order to renew their status as a Wikimedia User Group. Reports must be written in English, posted to meta, and linked on the meta Reports page.

As noted on the meta Reports page, your organization’s 2017 annual reporting became past due in July. Please be sure to

  1. Post your 2017 annual Activities reporting to the meta Reports page as soon as possible to return to compliance with your Usergroup agreement.
  2. Check that your group’s page is also up to date with past report links for historical record-keeping, and
  3. Please send an email to Wikimedia-l in order to share with a movement-wide audience.

If you have any questions or need any further guidance, please don’t hesitate to reach out.

Kindest regards -- DNdubane (WMF) (talk) 19:27, 29 November 2017 (UTC)

Report for 2016-17 been posted here. Thanks, ~SuperHamster Talk Contribs 04:12, 9 January 2018 (UTC)

Wikimedia Strategic Direction endorsement

Hi all - as you may or may not have seen, the Wikimedia community has been working on coming up with a movement strategy to carry us through 2030. More information can be viewed at Strategy/Wikimedia movement/2017. The strategy, as it stands, is as follows:

By 2030, Wikimedia will become the essential infrastructure of the ecosystem of free knowledge, and anyone who shares our vision will be able to join us.
We, the Wikimedia contributors, communities, and organizations, will advance our world by collecting knowledge that fully represents human diversity, and by building the services and structures that enable others to do the same.
We will carry on our mission of developing content as we have done in the past, and we will go further.
Knowledge as a service: To serve our users, we will become a platform that serves open knowledge to the world across interfaces and communities. We will build tools for allies and partners to organize and exchange free knowledge beyond Wikimedia. Our infrastructure will enable us and others to collect and use different forms of free, trusted knowledge.
Knowledge equity: As a social movement, we will focus our efforts on the knowledge and communities that have been left out by structures of power and privilege. We will welcome people from every background to build strong and diverse communities. We will break down the social, political, and technical barriers preventing people from accessing and contributing to free knowledge.

So far, over 80 organized groups endorse the Strategic Direction. I'd like for the Ohio Wikimedians to also endorse the direction. Please do express any support or opposition you may have in doing this; if no opposition comes up, I plan on endorsing the direction on January 20. Thank you! ~SuperHamster Talk Contribs 16:01, 9 January 2018 (UTC)

Inviting you to participate in the women editing contest "The women you have never met"

Dear Ohio Wikimedia User Group!

Hope this message finds you all well :) On behalf of Iberocoop network I want to invite you to be part of the women editing contest we are organizing along with many other chapters and user groups in the movement. You are doing an excellent work on your local context and we will be so pleased to have you on board. In this very early stage, we are asking the organizations to add their interest in the following meta page Hope to see you there soon! Hugs----Anna Torres (WMAR) --Anna Torres (WMAR) (talk) 15:31, 25 January 2018 (UTC)

Learning Quarterly: January 2018

Share your feedback in this global Wikimedia survey

Dear Wikimedia Affiliates,
My name is María Cruz and I work for the Wikimedia Foundation on the Learning and Evaluation team. In one week or so, the Foundation is starting a global survey to learn about the experiences and feedback of Wikimedians. I am writing here, because I wanted to share with you a bit more about the project.
The survey is called "Wikimedia Communities and Contributors" and is conducted annually. We will send the survey to editors across all the Wikimedia projects, as well as Wikimedia affiliates and volunteer developers. This survey is going to be our way of making sure that we can hear feedback from a significant number of users from across the projects. This research supports editors and Wikipedia’s mission. This is our second annual CE Insights survey, and we look forward to improving it every year.
We will be contacting 2 people from each affiliate, based on the primary contact information that we have. Each affiliate will receive an additional third link which they can distribute to any leader in their chapter or user group.
Go to the project page to see the results of last year’s survey, and to see how your feedback helps the Wikimedia Foundation support communities. You can sign up to be notified about the results of the survey, or to learn how you can help with planning the survey next year.
If you have any questions or concerns about this project, please feel free to send them to Edward Galvez's talk page on Meta-Wiki or email him directly at surveys(_AT_)wikimedia · org in any language. You can learn more about this project and read about frequently asked questions. You can also share your feedback on Meta-Wiki.

Thank you for your time supporting this project!
María Cruz
MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 23:42, 19 March 2018 (UTC)

Net Neutrality Statement

Hello all, if you've been keeping up with internet legislation, you'll know that the FCC recently moved to remove many of the protections for net neutrality. There is a short window of opportunity for Congress to act, and block the FCC from implementing the change and preserve the 2015 regulations preserving net neutrality in the United States. The Wikimedia Foundation and several other US user groups have expressed support for this effort to preserve net neutrality, and to show Ohio Wikimedians User Group's dedication to a free and open internet in solidarity with the above groups, I would like to propose we issue the following statement:

"To freely share in the sum of all knowledge requires that one be able to freely access that knowledge. Under previous protections, the rights of everyone to use the internet as they saw fit were guaranteed. Now with new FCC regulations repealing Net Neutrality, the ability to use the internet to spread free knowledge with the entire world is now in doubt. It is possible, and in our opinion quite likely, that restrictions on internet usage in the United States would be instituted, limiting access behind paywalls or data caps and ensuring that only those who pay would truly have access to one of mankind's greatest achievements. In order to preserve the spread of knowledge afforded only by a free and open internet, Ohio Wikimedians User Group declares our support for Net Neutrality, and any and all efforts to preserve it in the United States and throughout the world."

Let me know what you all think below and feel free to offer suggestions for improvement. If the group is in favor, we can publish this on our main page and make this important statement. --- Blervis (talk) 12:07, 22 April 2018 (UTC)

It would appear everyone is in favor, so I'm going to make it official. SuperHamster and I are also working on a more official statement with some other users, in an attempt to get larger messaging in favor of this on Wikipedia at large. I will update you all when we have something to discuss as a community at large. the support you have shown here will be essential if we are going to do something about preserving net neutrality. Thank you all for your support! Blervis (talk) 00:40, 4 May 2018 (UTC)

Learning Quarterly: June 2018

L&E Newsletter / Volume 5 / Issue 16 / June 2018
 Learning Quarterly

Stay tuned
blogs, events
& more!

Learning Quarterly: November 2018

L&E Newsletter / Volume 5 / Issue 17 / November 2018
 Learning Quarterly

Stay tuned
blogs, events
& more!

2018 Affiliations Committee call for candidates

This is an update from the Wikimedia Affiliations Committee.

The Affiliations Committee – the committee responsible for guiding volunteers in establishing Wikimedia chapters, thematic organizations, and user groups – is looking for new members!

The main role of the Affiliations Committee is to guide groups of volunteers that are interested in forming Wikimedia affiliates. We review applications from new groups, answer questions and provide advice about the different Wikimedia affiliation models and processes, review affiliate bylaws for compliance with requirements and best practices, and advise the Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees on issues connected to chapters, thematic organizations and Wikimedia user groups.

The committee can include up to fifteen members, roughly half of whom are selected every twelve months for staggered two-year terms. Those joining the committee during the current process will serve a two-year term ending in December 2020.

Key skills

Being a part of the Affiliations Committee requires communication with volunteers all over the world, negotiating skills, cultural sensitivity, and the ability to understand legal texts. We look for a healthy mix of different skill sets in our members, including the following key skills and experience:

- Willingness to process applications through a set, perhaps bureaucratic process.
- Readiness to participate in political discussions on the role and future of affiliates, models of affiliation, and similar topics.
- Availability of up to 5 hours per week, and the time to participate in a monthly two-hour voice/video meeting.
- International orientation.
- Fluency in English.
- Ability to work and communicate with other languages and cultures.
- Strong understanding of the structure and work of affiliates and the Wikimedia Foundation.
- Knowledge of different legal systems and experience in community building and organizing are a plus.
- Skills in other languages are a major plus.
- Experience with or in an active affiliate is a major plus.
- Strong track record of effective collaboration (such as evidenced skills at facilitation, mediation, negotiation, and so forth) are a major plus.
- Willingness to use one's real name in committee activities (including contacts with current and potential affiliates) when appropriate.

We are looking for people who are excited by the challenge of empowering volunteers to get organized and form communities that further our mission around the world. In exchange, committee members selected will gain the experience of supporting their world-wide colleagues to develop their communities as well as personal development in guiding organizational development, facilitating affiliate partnerships, and professional communications.

Selection process

As a reflection of our commitment to openness, transparency, and bilateral engagement with the Wikimedia community, the 2018 member selection process will include a public review and comment period. All applications received by the committee will be posted on Meta at Affiliations Committee/Candidates/December 2018, and the community will be invited to provide comments and feedback about each candidate.

At the end of the public comment period, the applications will be voted on by the members of the committee who are not seeking re-election, taking into account comments put forward by the committee's members, advisors, Wikimedia Foundation staff and board liaisons, and the community. A final decision will be made by mid-January 2019, with new members expected to join later that month.

How to apply

If you are interested in joining the committee, please post your application on the nomination page and send an email announcing your application to affcom@lists.wikimedia.org by 31 December 2018. Your application must include the following information:

- Your full name and Wikimedia username
- A statement describing your relevant experience, skills, and motivation for joining the committee.
- Answers to the following three questions:

  1. How do you think affiliates work best together to partner on effective projects and initiatives?
  2. What do you see as the role of affiliates in the Wikimedia movement in the next three years?
  3. What do you feel you will bring to the committee that makes you a uniquely qualified candidate?


If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact me and/or the committee as a whole. We are happy to chat or have a phone call with anyone about our work if this helps them decide to apply. Please distribute this call among your networks, and do apply if you are interested!

Best regards,
Kirill Lokshin
Chair, Affiliations Committee

Posted by MediaWiki message delivery on behalf of the Affiliations Committee, 06:25, 17 December 2018 (UTC)

New Affiliations Committee appointments

AffCom is excited to share with you the news that the Wikimedia Foundation Board has unanimously approved the changes to the Bylaws during the last Board meeting on January 30, 2019.

This change allows the participation of User Groups in the Affiliate-selected Board seats (ASBS) 2019 process.

To read the Board's announcement, please click here

--MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 14:45, 21 February 2019 (UTC)

Help us make Wikipedia talk pages more accessible to more participants

Hello!

Our team at the Wikimedia Foundation is working on a project to improve the ease-of-use and productivity of wiki talk pages. As an affiliate, I can imagine you’ve run into challenges explaining talk pages to first-time participants, or it is an consultation that would interest your members.

We want all contributors to be able to talk to each other on the wikis – to ask questions, to resolve differences, to organize projects and to make decisions. Communication is essential for the depth and quality of our content, and the health of our communities.

We're currently leading a global consultation on how to improve talk pages, and we're looking for groups that can discuss and report on their experiences using (or helping other people to use) wiki talk pages. We'd like to invite you to participate, with the user groups that you belong to. You can learn more about the consultation at Mediawiki.org and if you're interested in hosting a group discussion (on-wiki or off-wiki), you can sign up at the participant sign-up group.

If you’d like to participate or if you have any questions, please contact us and let us know. The more people participate from many horizons, the better the outcome will be.

Thank you! Trizek (WMF) 15:29, 8 March 2019 (UTC)

Call for complementary facilitators and more to get the ASBS 2019 process started!

Hi everyone, hope all is fine with you!

The next weeks will be intense, as affiliates figure out their participation in the process that will soon select 2 people for the Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees. Since new Bylaws established that the user groups are for the first time going to be involved in such process, a lot more support than before is certainly going to be necessary, among other things, for big and healthy conversations on the topic. Hence, please encourage members of your group to become a complementary facilitator, or sign up yourself! You can add yourself to the list on Meta or reply to me to flag availability. One person from the facilitators group should soon be selected to liaise with the Foundation Board’s Chair, María Sefidari, on behalf of all affiliates, and it may be wise to also find a deputy for them.

Finally, if you can think of any huge obstacles that would prevent your group from participating to the process (for instance, a language barrier, or lack of good decision-making mechanisms, etc.), please reach out to me directly: it is really important that we hear about them as early as possible. Thank you! Elitre (WMF) 15:23, 12 March 2019 (UTC)

Strategy Liaison for Movement Strategy

@Blervis, Rimmel.Edits, Parsecboy, Malik Shabazz, Fritzmann2002, Stevexu95, Mitchumch, Araumi, Frank Anchor, Wbm1058, Sixflashphoto, Nova Crystallis, Hamaxides, Minh Nguyễn, Etzedek24, Aharonium, LovelyLillith, Granato31415, Realworldobject, and PonyToast:

Hi all - apologies for this mass-ping, but I wanted to get this message out. I was recently made aware of the Movement Strategy's organized group strategy liaisons. All organized groups are invited to register a liaison to act as a bridge between the group and the Movement Strategy. The role acts as a point of contact for the Movement Strategy's Working Groups, keeps their organization updated, facilitate any discussions that need to happen, etc. Listed commitment is from March through December, with a typical 1-2 hours/week commitment and peak time periods suggesting 5-8 hours per week to be involved in and monitor discussions. The deadline for liaison registration is March 15 (today).

I know this is last minute, but I think it'd be great to have a liaison for Ohio in the movement strategy, for the good of the Ohio community as well as the broader United States. I am happy to serve as a liaison, but would also be thrilled if anyone else would be interested in serving and getting involved with the movement strategy. If you would be interested in serving as liaison, please comment below, or otherwise express support/opposition in me (or anyone else who has commented) in serving. If no one else expresses interest or opposition in me serving, I'm planning to register as liaison by the end of day in the interest of getting someone registered on behalf of our group.

On another note: I know there have been a lack of online updates for this group since WikiConference North America. There are some exciting things happening in Ohio in the coming weeks, including several Art+Feminism edit-a-thons. Planning to get a newsletter out by this weekend with updates on recent and upcoming activities. Thanks! ~SuperHamster Talk Contribs 06:34, 15 March 2019 (UTC)

Serving as a liaison does sound interesting; however, I can only wonder if I will have the time for it. I mean, I am doing a job search for paid work right now, and I've been happy maintaining and breaking records for Wikidata gamification all the years I've been part of Wikidata Connections. What does everyone else think? Who else is interested? ~User:Granato31415 Talk Contribs 14:08, 15 March 2019 (UTC)

I can do it if you have need! PonyToast (talk) 23:53, 15 March 2019 (UTC)
@PonyToast: Awesome, I'm in support. ~SuperHamster Talk Contribs 00:27, 16 March 2019 (UTC)
OK, I've submitted it! PonyToast (talk) 00:41, 16 March 2019 (UTC)
Sorry guys, I'm a WikiOgress and terrible about responding quickly to pings and emails. However, I am very glad to see that there are people interested in working on this, I have full confidence in SuperHamster's organizational skills. LovelyLillith (talk) 21:43, 18 March 2019 (UTC)

Strategy Liaison Report - We need your feedback!

@SuperHamster, Blervis, Rimmel.Edits, Parsecboy, Malik Shabazz, Fritzmann2002, Stevexu95, Mitchumch, Araumi, Frank Anchor, Wbm1058, Sixflashphoto, Nova Crystallis, Hamaxides, Minh Nguyễn, Etzedek24, Aharonium, LovelyLillith, Granato31415, and Realworldobject:

I am sorry for the mass ping, but time is short on this, unfortunately!

Hello everyone, I'm PonyToast and I'm the new Wikimedia Strategy Liaison for Ohio Wikimedians. In short, my job is to be the point of contact between our group and the Wikimedia Movement Strategy Process.

In 2017, the strategy team and Wikimedia set a bold direction: By 2030, Wikimedia will become the essential infrastructure of the ecosystem of free knowledge, and anyone who shares our vision will be able to join us. From there, it was a task of determining how, exactly, we are going to get there. Since July 2018, working groups have identified key guiding questions within nine thematic areas relevant to the movement. Now, it's your turn to discuss and provide your feedback!

The first big milestone is Wikimedia Summit 2019 in Berlin, which some of you may be attending. The strategy teams will be discussing the questions the working groups have defined around how to make our movement more future ready and take some early steps toward answering them. For those in attendance, your perspective is crucial, and we want to make sure you have had a chance to be heard. For this, Wikimedia's Strategy Team has released Scoping Documents from the 9 working groups. Each document outlines key questions under a different theme that relate to structural challenges in the movement. These documents are available in multiple languages so that as many people as possible can have a voice in answering them.

I am going to be hosting two discussions on this subject: one will run for the next two days here on this discussion page. The other will be a google hangout tomorrow at 7 PM Eastern (midnight UTC). The link to that hangout is here!

Please go take a look at the feedback discussion page so we can make sure your big concerns are heard related to the Wikimedia Strategy. Let's make it happen.

Please don't hesitate to reach out to me if you need! PonyToast🍞(Talk) 14:12, 25 March 2019 (UTC)

I had an opportunity to chat briefly with Jimmy Wales today and asked if he would like to pass anything on to the Ohio Wikimedians, particularly in the subject of protecting the reliability of information. Here's his response:

I appreciate everyone's passion. It is a funny thing how Wikipedia used to be thought of as some kind of joke and now people realize how passionate we are about facts.

— Jimmy Wales
PonyToast🍞(Talk) 13:22, 26 March 2019 (UTC)
@PonyToast: Sorry I missed these - been on vacation for the past week so unfortunately couldn't engage with the scoping documents. Big kudos for kicking these things off and getting engaged!
Maria (User:Rimmel.Edits) served as our rep in Berlin, I know she'll be posting an update about the conference here soon, and reaching out to you soon if she hasn't already to discuss the conference and moving forward. ~SuperHamster Talk Contribs 23:54, 31 March 2019 (UTC)

New ping template

I've set up Template:@OHmembers. If you ever need to ping all our user group members at once, you can use {{@OHmembers}}. Reminder that for pings to work, the template needs to be used on a talk page and include your signature. ~SuperHamster Talk Contribs 23:58, 31 March 2019 (UTC)

Update on the Affiliate-selected Board seats 2019 process

Hi all,

The Election Facilitators met on Friday, April 5. We finalized the resolution, which is now frozen. The Board of Trustees of the Wikimedia Foundation will be asked to approve the resolution.

We have made two small changes to be more inclusive. We extended the date for compliance with AffCom reporting and being in good standing to May 7 to allow time for as many Affiliates as possible to be current with these requirements. The Election Facilitators adjusted the language in case a quorum is not met during the election.

On the talk page of the resolution one issue was raised. The issue looks like to be about a possible candidate. Affiliates will have ample time to discuss the merits of candidates during nomination time, screening time, and they can cast their votes on candidates. The Election Facilitators didn't see the necessity for this change, and left the resolution on this point unchanged.

The Election Facilitators will be Abhinav Srivastava, Lane Rasberry, Jeffrey Keefer, Ad Huikeshoven, Neal McBurnett and Alessandro Marchetti. We will welcome more volunteers to assist us in this process, to reach out to the diversity in language and gender in our communities, and do so in an advisory role.

The nomination period opens on April 15. We are going to prepare nomination pages on Meta. You can expect a call for nominations. There is a draft call, including a candidates' profile section with non-binding guidelines about experience and characteristics for nominees. You are welcome to add your insights, or discuss on the talk page.

Erica Litrenta (WMF staff) supports us in this process. She will reach out to all affiliates through mail and other channels to make sure we are up to date with (user)name and contact details of your primary contact.

On behalf of the Election Facilitators, Ad Huikeshoven 10:52, 6 April 2019 (UTC)

Update about the Affiliate-selected Board seats process 2019

Hello everyone!

  • The Resolution has been approved by the Board of Trustees;
  • Nominations phase is now open, from April 15 00:00 UTC to April 30 23:59 UTC. See the Call for Candidates and Nominations pages;
    • Community members may ask questions of the candidates;
  • Your main representative has just received an email to confirm that they are indeed the primary contact and will perform official actions on behalf of your group (such as endorsing candidates and then voting). Some groups also need to verify their eligibility status in due time, as explained in the email;
  • New content is available to spread awareness around the process - the infographic on this page has clickable links and can be translated, and a primer is available, that we hope will be particularly helpful to those new to such a process;
  • Finally, you are welcome to help with translations! Pick one page from the ASBS category and, in the next couple of weeks, please consider translating profiles of the candidates in particular.

Thanks for your attention! The Facilitators for ASBS 2019, 07:33, 15 April 2019 (UTC)

Affiliate-selected Board seats 2019 process: your representative

Hello. The name of the only person who will vote on behalf of this group to select the next two Board members is now at m:Affiliate-selected Board seats/2019/Eligible entities. Please contact me directly as soon as possible if you need any kind of corrections there. There's only a few hours left to endorse candidates, and only the official voter can do that. I would also like to take this opportunity to remind you that you can make a difference with the necessary translations.

Appreciate your attention and your support so far! Thank you! Elitre (WMF) and Facilitators of ASBS 2019, 12:15, 29 April 2019 (UTC)

Upcoming 2019 Affiliate-selected trustee position on the Board of Wikimedia Foundation

Greetings Ohio Wikimedians User Group,

My name is Gerald Shields, also known as user:Geraldshields11. I am asking for your top rank vote for me in the election for one of two open trustee positions on the Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees.

I am asking for your vote to help support emerging communities and promote an inclusive education environment on all wiki projects. Also, I plan to promote various other issues as I mention in my statement and answers to various questions. I ask that you show your support for the issues that need to be address by voting for me as one of your preferences.

My candidacy information page is Affiliate-selected Board seats/2019/Nominations/Gerald Shields on Meta or can be found at Gerald Shields candidate. I have responded to the “Questions for all candidates - Questions for this individual candidate that do not apply to other candidates”. My answers give more details on why your affiliate should vote for me.

See you all at the next WikiConference.

Thank you for your time, discussion, and consideration of my candidacy. I appreciate it.

My best regards,

Gerald Shields

Geraldshields11 (talk) 02:11, 8 May 2019 (UTC)

Thank you for your organization's top four vote during the 2019 trustee election. With your organizations', Igbo's, and AfroCrowd's votes, I was able to score better than expected. Geraldshields11 (talk) 21:04, 17 June 2019 (UTC)

ASBS 2019 discussion

@Ohio Wikimedians User Group members: Hello! Hope you had a good Memorial Day weekend. The May 31 deadline is coming up for affiliates to vote for the two 2019 affiliate-selected Board seats. As the primary contact for the group, I'm responsible for submitting our vote. Maria and I are planning to have a virtual meeting on Wednesday or Thursday evening (around 7 or 8 Eastern) to discuss the nominees and formulate our rankings. If you would like to join the discussion, please respond with which evening and time would work best for you. From there we'll finalize a day/time and send out a meeting invite. If neither evening works for you, or if you otherwise have comments but do not wish to join the meeting, you are welcome to send either of us comments regarding the nominees to be taken into account during the discussion. Thank you! ~SuperHamster Talk Contribs 05:41, 28 May 2019 (UTC)

Hi SuperHamster. Thank you for relaying this invitation. What are the responsibilities for this position? I clicked through but this information was not clear to me... Aharonium (talk) 03:48, 29 May 2019 (UTC)
@Aharonium: Excellent question! Wikimedia's Board of Trustees oversee the Wikimedia Foundation and is its ultimate authority. Practically speaking they operate at a high-level and perform responsibilities like approving the budget, auditing, funding projects (like the Movement Strategy process), etc. The Board has ten seats:
  • 1 seat for Jimmy Wales
  • 4 seats appointed by the Board
  • 3 seats elected by the Wikimedia community
  • 2 seats elected by Wikimedia affiliates (this election)
The candidates for the 2 affiliate seats are listed here. Each Wikimedia affiliate gets to vote (by ranking) their preferred candidates. Functionally the 2 affiliate seats are the same as the other 8, but these are important as they represent 2 out of the 5 community-elected board members. Let me know if you have any other questions. ~SuperHamster Talk Contribs 04:19, 29 May 2019 (UTC)
Thank you so much for this explanation. Aharonium (talk) 05:10, 29 May 2019 (UTC)
P.S. for anyone reviewing candidates, candidates have been answering questions here. ~SuperHamster Talk Contribs 06:00, 29 May 2019 (UTC)

Introducing Wikimedia Space: A platform for movement news and organizations

Hi Ohio Wikimedians User Group/Archive 1,
I’m writing to let you know that the Community Engagement department [1]at the Wikimedia Foundation is launching a new platform, Wikimedia Space. Here, you will find stories for and by contributors to the Wikimedia movement, and a space for discussions of different topics.

We know that finding information about Wikimedia activities and processes is very complicated, which makes the learning curve to enter our movement and be successful afterwards, really steep. By centralizing community stories and conversations in one shared space, we believe we are facilitating access and discoverability of topics across the movement, improving, in turn, connections among Wikimedians.

As an affiliated organization to the Wikimedia Foundation, we hope that you can share this platform with your local community, and we count on you to encourage them to add their voices. If you’d like to contribute stories, and overall, participate in the discussion section, please read our blogging guidelines and our code of conduct and join the conversation. Find more information about the project on its page on Meta.

Looking forward to seeing you at Wikimedia Space,
María Cruz, Communications and Outreach Manager, Wikimedia Foundation.
MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 17:53, 25 June 2019 (UTC)

References
  1. ↑ View the department's page on Meta-Wiki.

Strategy Liaison report: Draft Recommendations released!

@Ohio Wikimedians User Group members: Hi Ohio Wikimedians! Last week the Draft Strategy Recommendations were released and are now looking for your feedback! Please take a minute to peruse these documents and see if there's anything you particularly like or dislike about them or they way they are being implemented. Are there any causes that you, the Ohio Wikimedians, would like me to help you advocate for? What discussions do you want to see opened? I'm all ears. PonyToast🍞(Talk) 13:07, 14 August 2019 (UTC)

@PonyToast: Thanks for making this post - I also added a note about this in the newsletter for this month. ~SuperHamster Talk Contribs 04:55, 3 September 2019 (UTC)

WikiConference North America 2019: Submissions + Scholarship Apps Open

Hello! WikiConference North America 2019 will be taking place in Boston from Friday, November 8 through Monday, November 11! Plans are under way for our annual Culture Crawl, hackathon and programming days. We're also teaming up with and are thrilled to have the support of the Credibility Coalition to put on a great event with reliability as a central theme.

  • Session proposals are open for anyone to submit lectures, panels, workshops, etc. Visit our submissions page on the conference wiki to learn more and start your submission. Submissions are due by September 20th (or September 27th for academic proposals).
  • Scholarship applications are also open: You can apply for a scholarship through September 20th. Everything you need to know about the scholarship -the criteria, application timeline, evaluation process, a FAQ section, as well as a link to the application form- are available on our scholarship page.

We hope you can join us. If you'd like to stay tuned on social media, you can follow us on Facebook or Twitter.

Thank you! ~SuperHamster Talk Contribs 06:01, 6 September 2019 (UTC)

Introducing Wikimedia Diary: A memory book (notebook) for all

Wikimedia Diary
Hello Ohio Wikimedians User Group/Archive 1, I wanna share you about Wikimedia Diary, a public memory book (notebook) in which Wikimedians from all over the world are free to write any worth noting event/activities/experiences by them or community in this Wiki world. It is a more casual place to write about what one is up to.

As we all know, a diary is a book in which diarist keeps a daily record of events and experiences. Likewise, the basic idea of Wikimedia Diary is that we do many activities here in wiki world which we are proud of, but unfortunately it became only the history anytime. So, It is meant to record those activities on the happened date with a signature (~~~~) which is worth noting, and letting fellow Wikimedians know about what inspirational you've did. It would motivate users from all around the world to keep on cool activities and publish a note. I hope you share your activities with all of us on the page, and please let your friends know about Wikimedia Diary. Also, your feedback is welcome on the discussion page. Thank you!
Kind regards,
Tulsi Bhagat, Initiator of Wikimedia Diary, Wikimedia movement communications group.
MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 08:09, 15 November 2019 (UTC)

2018-2019 annual report

Hello @Ohio Wikimedians User Group members: I've created our annual report that covers our activities between July 2018 and July 2019: Ohio Wikimedians User Group/Reports/2018-19.

Please review, and feel free to make modifications as you see fit, especially if I missed something! Thanks, ~SuperHamster Talk Contribs 19:16, 8 December 2019 (UTC)

Invitation to participate in Wikipedia Pages Wanting Photos

Dear Wikimedia Affiliate Community,

We are inviting you to participate in Wikipedia Pages Wanting Photos (WPWP), a new global contest scheduled to run from July through August 2020:

Participants will choose among Wikipedia pages without photo images, then add a suitable file from among the many thousands of photos in the Wikimedia Commons, especially those uploaded from thematic contests (Wiki Loves Africa, Wiki Loves Earth, Wiki Loves Folklore, etc.) over the years.

WPWP offers a focused task for guiding new editors through the steps of adding content to existing pages. It can be used to organize editing workshops and edit-a-thons.

The organizing team is looking for a contact person at the Chapter, Thematic group & Wikimedia User Group level (geographically or thematically), or for a language WP, to coordinate the project locally. We’d be glad for you to sign up directly at WPWP Participating Communities

Thank you,

Deborah Schwartz Jacobs

On behalf of Wikipedia Pages Wanting Photos Organizing Team - 21:19, 9 May 2020 (UTC)

Retrieved from "https://meta.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Talk:Ohio_Wikimedians_User_Group/Archive_1&oldid=23306629"