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Merchandise giveaways/Nominations/English Wikipedia active administrators

< Merchandise giveaways | Nominations

English Wikipedia active administrators

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Status:    On hold
List of users
Why are these users awesome?

These 417 users are the active English Wikipedia administrators (those who have made at least 30 edits in the past two months as of 27 December 2021) minus the 39 who already have shirts.

While adminship may be no big deal, I think it's safe to say that every one of these editors has contributed substantially to the success of the encyclopedia. To celebrate the solstice season and the new year, I believe that all of them deserve some tangible wikilove.

Note: There are very many non-admin editors who have contributed as much or more than those with a mop and who also deserve shirts. This list should be considered a start, not an end. The merchandise giveaway guidelines do not allow nominations from those currently being nominated themselves, but I very much encourage those not listed above to make some nominations of their own, and for those above to make some nominations after this one closes. Let's spread the tangible wikilove!

Comments
  •   Support as nominator. If I messed up and left out anyone in the list, apologies and please let me know so that I can add you. {{u|Sdkb}} talk 19:34, 28 December 2021 (UTC)[reply]
  •   Support as a talk page stalker and per nominator. Wizzito (talk) 23:53, 31 December 2021 (UTC)[reply]
  • thank you :-) - David Gerard (talk) 23:59, 31 December 2021 (UTC)[reply]
  • I've secretly always dreamt of receiving one of these t-shirts.   Support for all others on the list, if I may! ToBeFree (talk) 00:08, 1 January 2022 (UTC)[reply]
    I second this sentiment/dream, acknowledging that we cannot vote in others while currently nominated & not intending this as a vote. --TheSandDoctor Talk 01:54, 1 January 2022 (UTC)[reply]
  •   Support per nom. Great wiki(p/m)edians!I Am Chaos (talk) 00:14, 1 January 2022 (UTC)[reply]
  •   Comment While I appreciate the sentiment, being able to help others is its own reward. Looking at this, it would appear that to receive any of the gifts/awards, we would have to provide some identifying information for delivery or pickup. Therefore, I respectfully request my name be eliminated, as I prefer not to reveal such information. Thanks anyway, great idea for most admins. Maile66 (talk) 00:21, 1 January 2022 (UTC) I just removed my own name from the list. Maile66 (talk) 00:41, 1 January 2022 (UTC)[reply]
  • I never knew these existed, and now I want one more than anything in the world. Jpgordon (talk) 00:42, 1 January 2022 (UTC)[reply]
    @Jpgordon: You can also purchase them at shop.wikimedia.org. SQLQuery me! 00:48, 1 January 2022 (UTC)[reply]
  • Neat! Good for the morale of the nominees, too. Urhixidur (talk) 00:46, 1 January 2022 (UTC)[reply]
  • Thank you! Never knew this existed, and it's cheered me up after a bad week :) Grutness (talk) 01:20, 1 January 2022 (UTC)[reply]
  • Pinging SHust (WMF) and Seddon. I was sent an email a few days ago noting of "a large group" nomination; 417 is quite a bit larger than what I expected, and though I am unaware of any hard limit on merchandise giveaway nominations it seems pertinent to notify people on the WMF side of this. Best, Vermont (talk) 01:27, 1 January 2022 (UTC)[reply]
  • Nice idea, Sdkb, and I appreciate the thought. But I note that these T-shirts cost $18 to $25 on the website. The market price for 417 of them would be something over $7,000, not counting shipping. That’s more than just Wikilove; it’s a sizable chunk of change to suggest be paid for by somebody else, i.e., Wikimedia. I have a few pieces of WP paraphernalia, for which I have paid, and I contribute to Wikimedia as I suspect many of us do. But as for asking them to send me a freebie - no thanks. I kind of pride myself on the fact that I am not compensated for what I do here. --MelanieN (talk) 01:59, 1 January 2022 (UTC) P.S. Like Maile, I have removed my name from the list. --MelanieN (talk) 02:09, 1 January 2022 (UTC)[reply]
    Not trying to sway your decision, but wanted to point out that while they may sell for $18-25 on the website, they do not cost the WMF that much, or there would be no point in selling them. Nor does the WMF "lose" that much money on each shirt given away instead of sold, just the profit margin. That said, I have no idea what kind of profit margin these shirts may carry, and I'm ignoring shipping. IceKarmaॐ 05:43, 1 January 2022 (UTC)[reply]
    (While $7000 are such a tiny amount of the WMF's money that I don't have any problem with this,) The Merchandise giveaways page claims the merchandise is sold "as cheaply as possible", and the t-shirts do (or did) have to be produced for an amount of money that is certainly higher than the profit margin and is indeed "lost" when freely giving the purchased product away. The profit margin that could have been obtained by selling the t-shirts is an additional loss if they are limited in number, or irrelevant if they are produced on demand.
    So how about making this opt-in? Some are happy, some are not, so just limiting the giveaways to those who want them does seem to lower the cost significantly. We could make a list of people who want it. ToBeFree (talk) 14:34, 1 January 2022 (UTC)[reply]
  • I appreciate the sentiment, but I also repectfully would like to decline the offer and have removed myself from the list. Regards, AustralianRupert (talk) 02:12, 1 January 2022 (UTC)[reply]
  • I decline too but thanks for the thought. I am trying to live with less material belongings - even books ... Shyamal (talk) 03:01, 1 January 2022 (UTC)[reply]
  • Thanks for the thought, but the Wikipedia Library is a great gift. Espresso Addict (talk) 03:16, 1 January 2022 (UTC)[reply]
  • @Sdkb: I am not opposing this, but this feels like saying "we dont appreciate your edits/contributions if you are not an admin." There are a lot of (active) editors on en:Wikipedia:List of Wikipedians by number of edits/1–1000 with non-botlike edits who are not admins. Well, most of them are not admins. Just sayin. Also, I dont mind such bulk nominations. That WMF money would be well spent, better than speding it on one photo. @MelanieN: I dont think of it as compensation, our (all the editors') work here cant even be evaluated, it is more like a token of appreciation. —usernamekiran (talk) 03:32, 1 January 2022 (UTC)[reply]
    @Usernamekiran: I agree that tons of our most valuable editors are admins without tools, and I tried to speak to that in the last paragraph of the nomination. There's no perfect way to create a list of all editors deserving shirts (using edit count has its own issues), but I hope this nomination builds some additional awareness of the merchandise giveaway program and leads to future nominations for other deserving contributors. Cheers, {{u|Sdkb}} talk 03:53, 1 January 2022 (UTC)[reply]
    @Sdkb: Between the nominees, and the comments, I lost the last paragraph. Kindly accept my apologies. To be honest, you and me share exact same point of view. Admin talkpages have a big number of watchers. I hope it spreads the awareness, and nominating worthy editors becomes long lasting trend. —usernamekiran (talk) 05:17, 1 January 2022 (UTC)[reply]
  • Support. I always like free stuff. Which I can then autograph and sell on eBay wear to the gym. (Seriously...thanks for the consideration. If this goes through I'd love one.) --Ser Amantio di Nicolao (talk) 04:10, 1 January 2022 (UTC)[reply]
  • Thanks for the nomination, but I have enough stuff from my time working for WMF before certain members of management decided that office politics and self-advancement were more important than anything else. Anomie (talk) 04:31, 1 January 2022 (UTC)[reply]
  • Comment Wow, thanks for the nomination. 16 years and I finally might be getting some swag! If not then no hard feelings, I will probably just buy it. HighInBC (talk) 06:15, 1 January 2022 (UTC)[reply]
  • Comment Thanks for the nomination. It is appreciated. Mjroots (talk) 06:29, 1 January 2022 (UTC)[reply]
  • Thanks. I did get one a few years back, so I might not be eligible. --Rschen7754 07:19, 1 January 2022 (UTC)[reply]
  • Comment Thanks for that, it is muchly appreciated. I'll proudly display the nomination on my trophy wall. Wtmitchell (talk) 09:11, 1 January 2022 (UTC)[reply]
  • Support - thanks for thinking of us. Never had a nomination before. Best Wishes, Lee Vilenski (talk • contribs) 12:53, 1 January 2022 (UTC)[reply]
  • Comment - Ooh, thanks for the thought, even if I'm not one of the chosen ones. Deb (talk) 12:54, 1 January 2022 (UTC)[reply]
  • Comment - very kind of you to make this nomination, Sdkb, and I'll be happy to accept if the nomination goes through. Obviously I'm not here for any sort of material gain, and I probably end up giving the WMF back any gains I may have made by donating, but I do certainly enjoy receiving something like this - as indeed I enjoyed occasional wins at en:Wikipedia:The Core Contest/Winners - as a validation of the work I'm doing here. Also, I take the above point that admins aren't really a special class and there are many highly deserving Wikipedians who don't have the mop - perhaps there are separate merch noms to be created for them - but that doesn't mean the people on this list don't deserve it - all have contributed significantly to the project. Amakuru (talk) 13:09, 1 January 2022 (UTC)[reply]
  • Comment great idea, but as I virtually never wear t-shirts I've removed my name, I'd rather someone else get it who would wear it. Doug Weller (talk) 13:38, 1 January 2022 (UTC)[reply]
  • I changed the YouTube link to a diff, but Meta was still super-angry. Maybe if I link the diff internally it'll work...? Nope, it did not. Even internally-linked diffs from en are spam. Okay, Meta: GG. El C (talk) 14:40, 1 January 2022 (UTC)[reply]
I think we all have one of those already. 0;-D --MelanieN (talk) 16:59, 2 January 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Opt-in

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So who of those on the list would be happy about receiving one?

  1. David Gerard[1]
  2. TheSandDoctor[2]
  3. Jpgordon[3]
  4. Urhixidur[4]
  5. Grutness[5]
  6. Ser Amantio di Nicolao[6]
  7. HighInBC[7]
  8. Mjroots[8]
  9. Wtmitchell[9]
  10. Lee Vilenski[10]
  11. Deb[11]
  12. Amakuru[12]
  13. ToBeFree (talk) 15:00, 1 January 2022 (UTC)[reply]
  14. Secretlondon (talk)
  15. BDD (talk) 17:25, 1 January 2022 (UTC)[reply]
  16. Delirium (talk) 19:46, 1 January 2022 (UTC)[reply]
  17. Stifle (talk) 22:53, 1 January 2022 (UTC) (United Kingdom, if it matters)[reply]
  18. Zanimum (talk) 05:13, 2 January 2022 (UTC)[reply]
  19. Jonathunder -- thank you, and I won't look a gift shirt in the mouth. Jonathunder (talk) 13:51, 2 January 2022 (UTC)[reply]
  20. Kusma (talk) (in the UK). Thanks for the nomination, I've long wanted a Wikipedia shirt but I don't want to order one from the US. Kusma (talk) 17:01, 2 January 2022 (UTC)[reply]
  21. I'd love one. thanks! --Jayron32 (talk) 17:45, 2 January 2022 (UTC)[reply]
  22. After an unintentional wikibreak over the holidays, this is a pleasant surprise. Thank you! Slambo (talk) 00:17, 3 January 2022 (UTC)[reply]
  23. I got a T-shirt at the 2012 Wikimania, and finally threw it out last year because it was worn out. I'd love a replacement!.-Gadfium (talk) 00:46, 3 January 2022 (UTC)[reply]
  24. Gaius Cornelius (talk) 04:50, 4 January 2022 (UTC)[reply]
  25. Materialscientist (talk) 22:46, 4 January 2022 (UTC) (I should also be eligible through a past nomination)[reply]
  26. HickoryOughtShirt?4 (talk) 05:13, 2 January 2022 (UTC)[reply]
  27. rogerd A very pleasant surprise after 16+ years. Thank you. If not, I may buy one. --rogerd (talk) 18:01, 12 January 2022 (UTC)[reply]
  28. This is very thoughtful, thank you. I may be moving and changing residential addresses soon though so if possible, I would like it if I could receive shirt a little while later. Gizza (talk • voy) 13:12, 17 January 2022 (UTC)[reply]
  29. I don't wear or use products with brands or company names on them because I don't like to be an advertising bulletin board but this is a case where I would make an exception and proudly display the Wikipedia or Wikimedia name. Liz (talk) 20:11, 19 January 2022 (UTC)[reply]
  30. I hope that I'm not too late! --Aristo Class (talk) 11:42, 16 April 2022 (UTC)[reply]

I mean, this is opt-in anyway and we probably don't need this list. We probably also don't need name removals during the nomination. If the giveaway is accepted by the WMF, all users on Sdkb's list are notified by the team and can then choose to contact the WMF at merchandise wikimedia.org for receiving their t-shirt. They can also simply choose not to do so. ToBeFree (talk) 15:12, 1 January 2022 (UTC)[reply]

The WMF would probably appreciate an idea of numbers. A dozen people accepting, all in the US, is a considerably cheaper undertaking than potentially shipping 400+ items to all corners of the globe. Iridescent (talk) 15:15, 1 January 2022 (UTC)[reply]
  •   Support. I think this is a great initiative. Based on work at WP:ITN and WP:DYK at the minimum I would want these below ITN and DYK admins to be be opted-in unless they opt-out when contacted by WMF. Also, I see many editors rightly saying that they would want to be prudent on WMF's spend. But, getting a T-shirt is the least that we can do to acknowledge some of the work that some of the admins do. Good luck. Ktin (talk) 18:46, 1 January 2022 (UTC)[reply]
Admins active at WP:ITN and WP:DYK
As above, so below. Testing: saleswoman, salesperson. El C (talk) 19:54, 1 January 2022 (UTC)[reply]
Huh. Just the men then, what do you know. El C (talk) 19:56, 1 January 2022 (UTC)[reply]

On hold

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Hey all, admins should feel free to continue to note interest but I'm putting this request on hold for the time being. This hold is not an assessment of the merits of these users and their contributions, nor of this proposal. Admins on en.wiki and across all wiki's do a profound amount of work for the movement and without them we wouldn't be able to function. It's just simply that this is request is way beyond the usual scope of this process which is low volume and not designed for en masse requests and it sets a precedent for other categories of users; and across the other project and language communities. The logistics of that could be huge and the challenges of international shipping presents huge challenges and the expectations of communities simply could not be realised for all. So before people spend too much energy here and before knowing about this might proceed, and also considering its a holiday period; I'd like to just to take a moment for a pause so the coordinators can engage with staff to assess options. Seddon (talk) 21:18, 1 January 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Restating that admins should feel free to continue to note interest. Seddon (talk) 12:47, 2 January 2022 (UTC)[reply]
Thanks for the update, Seddon! That's very understandable—let us know if there ends up being anything we can do on the community end to ease the logistics, and thanks for the work you and the others on the WMF side do to run this program. Cheers, {{u|Sdkb}} talk 21:47, 1 January 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Query the appropriateness of Merchandise giveaways

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The following discussion is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section. A summary of the conclusions reached follows.
Coordinator note: This nomination page isn't the appropriate venue for this discussion and has been moved to Talk:Merchandise_giveaways

The Merchandise giveaways scheme appears to have been created by a WMF account on the English Wikipedia in 2012: [13]. There may have been some consultation with the community, but I haven't found any. Most of the nominations are not well attended; there are a number with just the nomination and then the acceptance, so in essence this has the same value as a barnstar, yet costs money. Money that does not belong to the nominator, nor to the WMF. The money comes from donors, the majority of whom would not be aware that their money is not going towards maintaining the encyclopedia, but toward internal, unpublicised gifts. As such there are ethical concerns here. Examples:

A) Do the communities want donated money to be given away like this when a barnstar would (and should) serve the purpose of acknowledging good works. There are some users, like Gerda who operates the Precious scheme, who echo this Merchandise giveaways scheme in that an individual gives an award to someone they feel has done good work. The main difference is that schemes like Precious do not take money from donations and so are fully in the spirit of Wikipedia. This merchandise scheme is more business orientated, and does not match well with a volunteer community.

B) Do the donors want their money to go to a scheme which is little known, little attended, and which has at best (and possibly less) the same intrinsic honour value as a free barnstar or free Precious. That the WMF are pausing on this mass nomination underlines the point that there is a monetary value to this gift which is not given by the nominator. No matter what the final decision, that there is a pause is significant. If Sdkb has created a special barnstar and mass nominated a bunch of people to receive it, then there wouldn't be any issue at all. It would have been gratefully received by everyone. So, questions:

  1. ) Was there consultation with any Wiki community about this scheme?
  2. ) Does the Foundation feel the cost is justified for a scheme which few people seem to be aware of and use?
  3. ) What is the Foundation's ethical justification for using donors money in this way when there are existing schemes for thanking and incentivising users which are well known, popular, successful, and free? (And please do not say that saying thankyou to someone is more significant when there is a monetary value attached, as that would be insulting to the thousands of us who work unpaid on this project because we value it beyond money)
  4. ) What do the communities feel about this scheme?
  5. ) How aware are communities of this scheme?
  6. ) Should there be a RfC on if the scheme should continue or be folded?

I want to make clear that I feel Sdkb has done this nomination in good faith and with the best of intentions. It is not Sdkb's mass nomination I am questioning, it is the existence of the Merchandise giveaways scheme. SilkTork (talk) 20:00, 2 January 2022 (UTC)[reply]

The above discussion is preserved as an archive. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section.
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