370:", who would have been "the Wikimedia Foundation's chief representative in India". Newstead did not mention the previous job title or explain the modifications, except to note in the FAQ that the new position was as consultant rather than a staffer, partly because "we want to keep our options open in regards to the potential structure of future Wikimedia Foundation operations in India". It is likely that concerns about such a director's exposure to legal liability for Wikimedia content may have played a role. Asked in the IRC office hour about "the strategy we have for dealing with legal issues in India", Newstead emphasized that the Indian chapter and "Hisham, who is an independent contractor, have NO control over Wikimedia content as organizations." Discussing such concerns further, he advised the Indian chapter to get a good legal counsel, and align with organizations like the
466:
211:"). Indicating an explanation for how the same topic made it to the paper's front page, Sue Gardner recounted how last month she and Moka Pantages (the Foundation's Global Communications Manager) had "used the occasion of Knowledgeâs 10th anniversary to have an off-the-record lunch with New York Times staff", talking with them about Knowledge's gender gap. Summarizing the state two and a half weeks later, she said: "e've leveraged Knowledge's visibility to develop public awareness of the gender gap, resulting in a flurry of decentralized activity in expected and unexpected forums, brainstorming potential solutions".
90:
293:"), where she noted that "weâre the only major site that doesnât treat controversial material â e.g., sexually-explicit imagery, violent imagery, culturally offensive imagery â differently from everything else", and that the Board of Trustees had aimed "to probe into whether that was helping or hurting our effectiveness at fulfilling our mission" at its October 2010 meeting. On that occasion, the 2010 Wikimedia Study of Controversial Content was presented, commissioned by the Foundation after widespread debates over the deletion of sexual images. It had been expected that the Board would adopt its
752:. (I am assuming that Hisham and the other applicants that you were referring to in your explanations originally applied for the National Director job opening - if I'm wrong about that and there was indeed a job opening published for the position in its current form, please correct me.) I had planned to ask you for comment about this, but I wasn't able to attend the IRC office hour on the topic, and didn't get around to contact you directly before writing the story. I'll try to do so next time in a similar situation. In the meantime, considering that we
555:
117:
107:
462:(the US court case on which Dcoetzee's uploads and the use of countless other artwork reproductions on Wikimedia projects rely), has been visiting Wikimedia GLAM events. She is in contact with Wikimedia Deutschland's Mathias Schindler about possible collaborations â "despite differing views about some questions of copyright" â where the chapter is aiming for the release of digital reproductions of public domain works.
33:
127:
87:
137:
167:
97:
196:), and revealed that the Foundation had actively sought it out, based on the insight that the gender-gap problem is complicated because "solutions donât lie entirely within the Knowledge editorial community, because important voices are missing there. We knew we would need to bring in voices from outside, and support them in making themselves heard."
736:. Sorry about not replying earlier and thanks for the useful clarification. The sentence in the story that you are referring to (which was clearly marked as an educated guess) was not just about the consultant vs. employee question, but also about dropping "the Wikimedia Foundation's chief representative in India" language.
697:
Jimbo didn't "overturn" anything. He reverted the action as a normal editor. The essay was and remains a pointy rant about a single content dispute, and in no way encapsulates a meaningful debate on a bigger picture issue. The definition of "hardcore" used is contrived so as to only include images
859:
Thank you. This is as good a place as any to make my point: "At the lunch, we talked with them about our gender gap. We knew it would stimulate a big, public conversation. And it did: immediately after the story was published, we were flooded with media inquiries and offers of help." Sounds like it
317:
that would enable users to block content they find offensive, for themselves only. However, no actual development of such features would commence without a request from the Board. Two of the original group members, Jan-Bart de Vreede and Kat Walsh, had stepped down and were replaced by Matt
Halprin,
661:
The graph on the history of the
Swedish article on Michael Jackson is quite striking, but for a graph to be useful, people need to have a key, or some way of understanding what the graph means. After a bit of searching, I can now guess that the colors represent the amount of content contributed by
511:
last week, sorting possible "product-focused" development efforts by the WMF into four categories of differing priority ("Great
Movement Projects", "Strategic Opportunities", "Frontier Projects", and "Red Links"). For the top category, it nominated the development of a rich-text editing interface,
717:
Please note that the decision regarding the appointment of a consultant rather than an employee was unrelated to the discussion about legal liabilities on the IRC chat. WMF didn't change our position on consultant vs. employee due to a heighten concern over legal liability. We have always been
785:
What proportion of
Usernames are visibly gender related (possibly also comparing different languages) - and what is the equivalent for other areas of the Wikiverse? WP is not an obvious first choice for looking for adult material per se (as distinct from 'what does this weird term mean?).
330:
a "consultant for
National Programs, India", whose role will be "to design and implement specific pilot programs that encourage many more Indians to become contributors to our projects in Indic languages as well as English." The new position is being filled by Hisham Mundol, who worked on
497:", a tool to visualize article histories on the Swedish Knowledge, representing each revision by a vertical line and distinguishing the amount of text contributed by each author with different colors (similar to the "history flow" software developed around 2002â03 by IBM researchers).
756:
the
Foundation's India expansion in the Signpost, and that such legal risks are relevant for the whole community (which could soon be faced with the new situation that editorial decisions on Knowledge might expose someone like Hisham to a personal risk), a question about your recent
620:
512:
and improvement of "the â1 to 100 edit experience" (which might include "welcoming strategies, user account creation as a key vector mentoring programs, changes to policies, procedures and implementations"). In related news, the
Outreach team's "Account Creation Improvement Project"
321:
739:
There is of course nothing wrong with the
Foundation changing job descriptions between putting out the ad and doing the actual hire. However, in previous cases where this happened, the original job description was mentioned and the change was explained (examples include
432:
110:
177:
The "gender gap" discussion about the low rates of participation of women in
Knowledge continued last week, and extended to overlap with another much-debated topic where the Wikimedia Foundation has been pondering changes: controversial content (sexual images).
250:
by George
Herbert and herself to women editors: whether they had "come across explicit material on the Wikimedia projects that... offensive, degrading or discouraging". This was triggered by a current debate on the English Knowledge about an essay by
761:
that "I have had some informal conversations about legal questions and WMF's new General Counsel Geoff Brigham has this as a priority as he gets started": Was the original job description from August vetted and endorsed by the then General
130:
245:
article. It mostly quoted comments made outside Wikimedia sites, with an exception being reason 7 â "Some women find Knowledge culture to be sexual in ways they find off-putting". There, Gardner listed some answers to a question that was
100:
140:
354:
The announcement by the Wikimedia Foundation's Chief Global Development Officer, Barry Newstead, explained that Mundol is "a newcomer to the Wikimedia movement will be spending the coming weeks (not months!) in learning mode". In an
718:
concerned about legal liability. We decided that the activities that we need fulfilled at the moment are best done via a consultancy. We might change this perspective as we move forward as we are still learning.Barry Newstead --
840:
Still, you are raising an interesting point, but there might be more appropriate venues to seek and publish such a clarification (Signpost articles should not be modified significantly after publication without a pressing
805:
This really demands more explanation or another reference. Was it really "off-the-record"? Or was it "background" or "not for attribution"? There are differences among all these categories. It would certainly be news if
208:
290:
267:
199:
In 2009, after the presentation of the UNU-MERIT study (whose estimate that only around 13% of Wikipedians are female also formed the basis of the recent debates), Noam Cohen, the author of the recent
314:
741:
161:
226:(8 March)" and is hosting weekly chat sessions on the topic. A Facebook group has been started as well. Since its inception on February 1, the "Gendergap" mailing list has reached
935:
If you want to attract neophytes to edit, don't put them off with in-groupish jargon, that's all I am saying. (It even puts me off, and I have been around for years.) Sincerely,
190:
73:
185:"a quick note recapping the basics about Knowledge's gender gap and Wikimedia's response to it." She recalled the widespread media coverage that was triggered by a January 31
745:
930:
677:
Um, didn't the note say "representing each revision by a vertical line and distinguishing the amount of text contributed by each author with different colors"? Regards,
635:
599:
294:
604:
594:
298:
274:
by Jimmy Wales. Gendergap list members chimed in, such as Knowledge researcher Joseph Reagle, who â somehow reminiscent of Gardner's "bring in voices from outside" â
853:
609:
686:
727:
120:
774:
837:. As a former journalist who has worked many years for a major news organization, she should be expected to be familiar with the precise meaning of these terms.
707:
542:
533:
271:
877:
823:
367:
584:
572:
944:
916:
795:
671:
589:
67:
957:
566:
52:
41:
356:
415:
407:
753:
748:
recently). It was a bit surprising to see neither here, despite a lot of other information about this hire and the new position, and other were
359:, it was explained that among the 179 applications, there were only seven from active Wikimedians, who do not have the required experience.
313:). She reported that she had asked the Wikimedia Tech Department about possible specifications to implement the study's recommendations for
1010:
439:
403:
508:
336:
900:
640:
490:
450:, and he has called for help in categorising and disseminating to projects. In distantly related news, the German Wikimedia chapter's
899:
which has absolutely no meaning in the English language. The internal link provided does not even go to a definition: Rather it goes
451:
811:
278:: "Is this the sort of thing that would benefit from public pillory? For example, a posting on Geek Feminism blog or elsewhere?"
238:
647:
371:
21:
922:
It is fairly common in Knowledge parlance, though I think it should well have been parenthesised or linked. The correct link is
985:
712:
692:
465:
980:
975:
262:) argues that "Knowledge should not include images from hardcore pornography", and has been cited with regard to the article
259:
459:
516:
that it is starting to test different versions of the "landing page" that greets newbies after they create their account.
447:
970:
282:
332:
318:
Jimmy Wales and Bishakha Datta. Phoebe said "the board does not yet have a formal position on this whole issue".
399:
322:
Foundation appoints "consultant for National Programs" in India, following search for National Program Director
526:
containing the Wikimedia Foundation's mid-year financial report for July to December 2010 has been uploaded.
171:
965:
800:
554:
46:
32:
17:
523:
734:
504:
442:
that the upload is complete. He added that certain files were deleted or not uploaded because they were
882:
486:
482:
624:
758:
780:
656:
223:
749:
306:
150:
814:) I hope to see this explained within this article as soon as possible. Sincerely, your friend,
812:
http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/08/12/with-off-the-record-lunch-obama-extends-a-hand/
810:
acceded to an off-the-record lunch for a Knowledge person but not for one with President Obama (
241:" on her personal blog, based on an extensive reading of online conversations generated by the
227:
940:
912:
873:
834:
819:
791:
275:
247:
215:
182:
991:
667:
366:
for a consultant for National Programs. Instead, the job opening in last August was for a "
513:
410:
ensued about the batch upload, focusing on the extensive metadata provided by the Museum.
406:
were uploaded right away by the Museum. Per common practice, the upload was stalled and a
363:
327:
8:
331:"large-scale national programs on HIV/AIDS prevention" when he was a consultant for the
723:
470:
428:
411:
631:
455:
936:
923:
908:
888:
869:
815:
787:
252:
662:
an individual editor, with the x-axis representing different versions over time.
663:
443:
309:
on the group's progress was posted by one of its members, Trustee Phoebe Ayers (
927:
849:
770:
703:
682:
377:
231:
1004:
719:
424:
387:
427:, who started to extract high-resolution reproductions of artworks from the
494:
830:
310:
446:
as files which are not yet in the public domain. The upload comprises
281:
Last November, Gardner herself had already touched on that topic in a
181:
On 17 February 2011, the Foundation's Executive Director, Sue Gardner
845:
766:
699:
678:
344:
154:
507:
for the Wikimedia Foundation on the Strategy wiki was completed by
266:. After conflicts with users who disagreed with that view, it was
263:
222:, aiming "to organise Womens Knowledge Hackfests between now and
166:
414:, who undertook this work, has now finished and has provided a
297:
immediately, but about half of them proved controversial (cf.
219:
348:
340:
481:: Wikimedia Sverige has published brief monthly reports for
239:
Nine reasons women don't edit Knowledge (in their own words)
162:
Gender-gap conversation links with sexual images controversy
733:
I'll note this has also been discussed on Wikimediaindia-l
68:
Gender gap and sexual images; India consultant; brief news
305:), and a working group was formed instead. On Sunday, an
458:, whose surname is well-known from the losing party in
203:
article, had already written about the same topic (cf.
374:(CIS), which might be inclined to support Knowledge.
214:
For example, on 17 February 2011, a list participant
471:
the Michael Jackson article on the Swedish Knowledge
645:If your comment has not appeared here, you can try
209:
Knowledge's changing culture, and gender statistics
907:, but I remain sincerely yours, a friend to all,
398:) announced a long-term partnership, including a
1002:
501:Rich-text editing and newbies as top priorities
384:Upload of Nordic Museum image donation resumes:
291:Controversial content and Wikimedia leadership
418:; this is open for feedback and improvements.
392:
148:
860:was "not for attribution." Many journalists
386:In November 2010, Wikimedia Sverige and the
362:The Foundation had not been advertising a
469:Visualization of the revision history of
464:
234:on Meta collects material on the topic.
165:
864:don't know the distinction, even after
648:
347:and English, and is currently based in
14:
1003:
440:has announced on Commons Village Pump
189:front-page article on the issue (cf.
51:
460:Bridgeman Art Library v. Corel Corp.
1011:Knowledge Signpost archives 2011-02
27:
750:left guessing about the reason too
553:
400:multimedia donation of 1000 images
53:
31:
28:
1022:
630:These comments are automatically
333:Public Health Foundation of India
218:that she had started the website
368:National Program Director, India
237:Two days later, Gardner listed "
135:
125:
115:
105:
95:
85:
887:Certainly one would not expect
372:Centre for Internet and Society
170:Collage currently illustrating
903:. I am a bit incensed at this
829:This is a verbatim quote from
713:Consultant for Indian programs
641:add the page to your watchlist
13:
1:
945:20:20, 28 February 2011 (UTC)
931:10:30, 27 February 2011 (UTC)
917:22:25, 26 February 2011 (UTC)
878:20:18, 28 February 2011 (UTC)
854:04:33, 28 February 2011 (UTC)
824:22:11, 26 February 2011 (UTC)
796:21:43, 25 February 2011 (UTC)
728:10:10, 23 February 2011 (UTC)
708:22:58, 22 February 2011 (UTC)
687:19:27, 22 February 2011 (UTC)
672:19:13, 22 February 2011 (UTC)
520:WMF mid-year financial report
326:The Wikimedia Foundation has
698:of bukkake and little else.
616:
489:2010. Among the topics is a
230:at the time of writing. The
18:Knowledge:Knowledge Signpost
7:
895:. I refer here to the word
335:. As Hisham Mundol said in
248:posed on the Gendergap list
10:
1027:
452:monthly report for January
422:Google Art Project upload:
337:his first IRC office hours
775:20:16, 8 March 2011 (UTC)
493:(in Swedish) presenting "
866:All the President's Men.
746:hiring Asaf and Moushira
509:priority recommendations
416:test upload of 50 images
270:, but this decision was
224:International Womens Day
172:Women on Knowledge Month
742:your own hire last year
479:Swedish chapter reports
473:by the "mwhistory" tool
444:specifically identified
357:FAQ on the new position
638:. To follow comments,
558:
474:
404:Several hundred images
393:
174:
36:
557:
468:
169:
35:
801:Off-the-record lunch
693:The "hardcore" essay
634:from this article's
600:Features and admins
448:more than 850 files
431:two weeks ago (cf.
220:Women4Wikipedia.net
808:The New York Times
625:Discuss this story
605:Arbitration report
595:WikiProject report
559:
546:"News and notes" â
505:Product Whitepaper
503:: The draft of a "
475:
429:Google Art Project
258:The essay (in its
175:
42:â Back to Contents
37:
649:purging the cache
610:Technology report
456:Harriet Bridgeman
228:over 600 postings
47:View Latest Issue
1018:
994:
924:Knowledge:USERFY
883:Don't use jargon
781:Gender breakdown
754:frequently cover
657:Graph key needed
652:
650:
644:
623:
577:
569:
567:21 February 2011
562:
545:
538:"News and notes"
537:
396:
157:
139:
138:
129:
128:
119:
118:
109:
108:
99:
98:
89:
88:
59:
57:
55:
54:21 February 2011
1026:
1025:
1021:
1020:
1019:
1017:
1016:
1015:
1001:
1000:
999:
998:
997:
996:
995:
990:
988:
983:
978:
973:
968:
961:
949:
948:
885:
803:
783:
715:
695:
659:
654:
646:
639:
628:
627:
621:+ Add a comment
619:
615:
614:
613:
570:
565:
563:
560:
549:
548:
543:
540:
535:
529:
394:Nordiska museet
380:
324:
295:recommendations
260:current version
232:gender gap page
164:
158:
147:
146:
145:
136:
126:
116:
106:
96:
86:
80:
77:
66:
62:
60:
50:
49:
44:
38:
26:
25:
24:
12:
11:
5:
1024:
1014:
1013:
989:
984:
979:
974:
969:
964:
963:
962:
951:
950:
947:
934:
933:
893:News and notes
891:to be used in
884:
881:
857:
856:
842:
838:
802:
799:
782:
779:
778:
777:
763:
737:
714:
711:
694:
691:
690:
689:
658:
655:
629:
626:
618:
617:
612:
607:
602:
597:
592:
587:
582:
580:News and notes
576:
564:
552:
551:
550:
541:
532:
531:
530:
528:
527:
517:
498:
476:
463:
454:mentions that
419:
379:
376:
323:
320:
187:New York Times
163:
160:
159:
144:
143:
133:
123:
113:
103:
93:
82:
81:
78:
72:
71:
70:
69:
65:News and notes
64:
63:
61:
58:
45:
40:
39:
30:
29:
15:
9:
6:
4:
3:
2:
1023:
1012:
1009:
1008:
1006:
993:
987:
982:
977:
972:
967:
959:
955:
946:
942:
938:
932:
929:
925:
921:
920:
919:
918:
914:
910:
906:
902:
898:
894:
890:
880:
879:
875:
871:
867:
863:
855:
851:
847:
843:
839:
836:
832:
828:
827:
826:
825:
821:
817:
813:
809:
798:
797:
793:
789:
776:
772:
768:
764:
760:
755:
751:
747:
743:
738:
735:
732:
731:
730:
729:
725:
721:
710:
709:
705:
701:
688:
684:
680:
676:
675:
674:
673:
669:
665:
651:
642:
637:
633:
622:
611:
608:
606:
603:
601:
598:
596:
593:
591:
588:
586:
583:
581:
578:
574:
568:
561:In this issue
556:
547:
539:
525:
521:
518:
515:
510:
506:
502:
499:
496:
492:
488:
484:
480:
477:
472:
467:
461:
457:
453:
449:
445:
441:
437:
435:
430:
426:
423:
420:
417:
413:
412:Prolineserver
409:
405:
401:
397:
395:
389:
388:Nordic Museum
385:
382:
381:
375:
373:
369:
365:
360:
358:
352:
350:
346:
342:
338:
334:
329:
319:
316:
312:
308:
304:
302:
296:
292:
288:
284:
279:
277:
273:
269:
265:
261:
256:
254:
249:
244:
240:
235:
233:
229:
225:
221:
217:
212:
210:
206:
202:
197:
195:
193:
188:
184:
179:
173:
168:
156:
152:
151:Jean-Frédéric
142:
134:
132:
124:
122:
114:
112:
104:
102:
94:
92:
84:
83:
75:
56:
48:
43:
34:
23:
19:
953:
904:
896:
892:
886:
865:
861:
858:
807:
804:
784:
716:
696:
660:
579:
573:all comments
519:
500:
478:
433:
421:
391:
383:
361:
353:
339:, he speaks
325:
300:
299:last week's
286:
280:
257:
242:
236:
213:
204:
200:
198:
191:
186:
180:
176:
155:Tilman Bayer
992:Suggestions
937:GeorgeLouis
909:GeorgeLouis
905:in-groupism
870:GeorgeLouis
868:Sincerely,
831:Sue Gardner
816:GeorgeLouis
788:Jackiespeel
632:transcluded
585:In the news
364:job opening
289:coverage: "
253:Herostratus
207:coverage: "
956:. You can
952:It's your
744:, and you
664:Smallbones
590:Versailles
408:discussion
272:overturned
79:Share this
74:Contribute
22:2011-02-21
986:Subscribe
928:Jarry1250
897:userfied,
889:wp:jargon
844:Regards,
835:statement
765:Regards,
636:talk page
514:announced
495:mwhistory
491:blog post
345:Malayalam
328:appointed
283:blog post
216:announced
1005:Category
981:Newsroom
976:Archives
954:Signpost
762:Counsel?
720:BazaNews
536:Previous
524:PDF file
487:December
483:November
436:coverage
434:Signpost
425:Dcoetzee
315:features
303:coverage
301:Signpost
287:Signpost
268:userfied
205:Signpost
194:coverage
192:Signpost
121:LinkedIn
101:Facebook
20: |
958:help us
759:comment
378:Briefly
264:bukkake
111:Twitter
841:need).
311:Phoebe
307:update
183:posted
131:Reddit
91:E-mail
971:About
862:still
349:Delhi
341:Hindi
285:(cf.
276:asked
16:<
966:Home
941:talk
926:. -
913:talk
901:here
874:talk
850:talk
846:HaeB
820:talk
792:talk
771:talk
767:HaeB
724:talk
704:talk
700:Gigs
683:talk
679:HaeB
668:talk
544:Next
522:: A
485:and
153:and
141:Digg
833:'s
438:),
351:.
243:NYT
201:NYT
149:By
76:â
1007::
943:)
915:)
876:)
852:)
822:)
794:)
773:)
726:)
706:)
685:)
670:)
534:â
402:.
343:,
255:.
960:.
939:(
911:(
872:(
848:(
818:(
790:(
769:(
722:(
702:(
681:(
666:(
653:.
643:.
575:)
571:(
390:(
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
