Wikisource:News/2019-07
From the Editors: Let's hear from you
[edit]Last month, Wikisource:News went unpublished. At the moment, this newsletter is written by one single editor. This month's edition features a republished article from the Wikipedia Signpost, a small update on English Wikisource admin confirmations, and this editorial. It's certainly not one of the best editions of this publication, but it certainly is not the worst. Easily, a lot more that could have been written, but it is unclear how many users would read it.
It possibly has to do with the lower amount of subscriber, but it could also have to do with the fact that there is not any amount of interesting content we are putting forward.
What do you want to see from this publication? Is there anything you would want to contribute happening in your community that you feel is not being discussed enough? Is a newsletter of this nature even needed? Feel free to send your feedback at s:en:Wikisource talk:News. Wikisource:News looks forward to hearing from you!
Administrator confirmations for July 2019
[edit]Four administrators are having their confirmation discussions in July 2019:
- Zyephyrus (talk • contribs)
- Samwilson (talk • contribs)
- Mahagaja (talk • contribs)
- Clockery (talk • contribs)
Samwilson is notable among them for also having a WMF staff account. Both Samwilson and Zyephyrus are incredibly likely to be reconfirmed.
2019 Wikimedia Affiliate Selected Board Seats Election Results
[edit]This story is a republication of "2019 Wikimedia Affiliate Selected Board Seats Election Results" which originally ran in the the Wikipedia Signpost. It has only been edited to fix internal links, and the original story with complete attribution can be found here.
The election for the 2019 Affiliate Selected Board Seats to the Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees has ended. The result is that Nataliia Tymkiv and Shani Evenstein are each selected for a 3-year term on the board. Nataliia is appointed to her second term in this seat, while Shani is replacing outgoing board member Christophe Henner who was elected in 2016. Although this instance of the election is over, the Wikimedia governance process continues, and everyone is invited to participate!
Why this matters
[edit]
The Signpost previously described the significance of this year's election in February and April articles. The two selected candidates will serve as two of the ten members of the Wikimedia Foundation board of trustees. In this role they will oversee the activities of Katherine Maher, director of the Wikimedia Foundation, and vote to approve or return the proposed Wikimedia Foundation US$100 million annual budget each year. Board members accomplish this through regular communication with each other including an in-person meeting and public presentation at the international Wikimania conference. For further details, anyone feeling curious should write to a former board member, interview them, and publish in The Signpost.
Have conversations about the results
[edit]The easiest way that anyone can constructively respond to these election results is by discussing them online with others. Discussion on the election's own talk page is best the record there is public, permanent, and easy for future election facilitators to find. Anyone who is a stakeholder in the well being of Wikipedia and Wikimedia projects can share their reactions, hopes, and even criticisms. Many experienced Wikimedia editors, regular financial donors, institutional partners, and Wikimedia readers are unaware of the Wikimedia political process and its ambition for global community participation in governance. The Wikimedia community is proud to host this, "the most important election on the Internet" as called by organizers, to offer a practical and accessible communication channel into the people conducting the highest management of the Wikimedia community's resources.
New standard of transparency for Wikimedia elections
[edit]
As part of the wrap-up of this election, the facilitators have published all the ballots revealing how everyone voted, the notes of their meetings, the code of the algorithm which tabulated voting results, and debrief reflecting on this year's election to use as guidance for future elections. Consider joining in the curation of media about this election by reviewing these publications, suggesting and supporting changes for future elections, and asking whatever questions come to mind about the process or outcome. The documented procedure of this election is likely to be the starting part for planning future elections. Because documentation creates a precedent, any community members who review this election during wrap-up will be making for better future elections. Anyone can edit any part of Wikimedia projects, including the rules of the election process. Anyone may create outreach materials to encourage broad community participation in Wikimedia governance, reflect on the ballots and algorithm, and describe their feelings on seeing this collection of media.
Confirmation pending
[edit]The selected candidates are not yet on the board of the Wikimedia Foundation. The present board of the Wikimedia Foundation will consider the results and discussion, then tentatively confirm the selected board members. The selected candidates will join the Wikimania 2019 conference in Stockholm in August, where the board of the Wikimedia Foundation will confirm them as new board members. The result seems settled but until confirmation there is a period of scrutiny where anyone can examine the ballots and contest the election results.
Thanks
[edit]The Signpost encourages readers to thank and acknowledge the following
- all candidates, for boldly standing to the personal scrutiny of the election
- Wikimedia community patriots and volunteers who, a generation ago, established this democratic process and the Wikimedia community empowerment which it represents
- the 140 voting delegates, each of whom represented a Wikimedia affiliate organization in casting the vote on behalf of the membership in that community
- the membership of those Wikimedia affiliate organizations who deliberated the candidate selection and served their obligation to vote
- the many Wikimedia community electioneers who got out the vote encouraging everyone to participate in the election
- the people who, right now, are organizing community discussions and petitions to submit to the current and future Wikimedia Foundation boards in an effort to enact movement-wide change through policy and community mandate
- the Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees for continued recognition and respect of the will of the Wikimedia community as the highest and most competent authority for guiding the Wikimedia Foundation as the steward of the assets for the Wikimedia Movement
- the election facilitators, for 3 months of weekly video chats which have notes published online in the open
Special report: Controversy at En.wiki
[edit]This story is a break from normal Wikisource coverage but may be of concern to many contributors. It mainly concerns the Wikipedia Signpost which is our sister publication on English Wikipedia. This article may not be particularly of interest for all readers as a result.
Recently, the Wikipedia Signpost ran a special report titled "Did Fram harass other editors?" written by its Editor-in-Chief Smallbones.
It has recently come to light that the Wikimedia Foundation Trust and Safety issued a year long ban to longtime Wikipedia administrator Fram. In the Signpost article, Smallbones wrote: "According to the T&S privacy policy the reason for the block cannot be revealed, but prior on-wiki complaints against Fram accuse them of harassing editors." You can read more about this subject in the Signpost's Discussion report.
Following an in depth investigation, published the offending piece. Initial reaction among the English Wikipedians was overwhelmingly negative, and very quickly a report on the "Incidents" subpage of the administrators noticeboard (known as "ANI") was filed by Haukurth.[1] Soon after the arbitration case request titled Disputed Signpost article was filed after Haukur's ANI report was closed with no actions taken.
Developments are still ongoing, but at presstime the En.wiki Arbitration Committee seems likely to take on the case.