Talk:Wikimedia New York City/Archives/2015
 | Please do not post any new comments on this page. This is a discussion archive first created in 2015, although the comments contained were likely posted before and after this date. See current discussion or the archives index. |
Safe space policy
Hello Wikimedian's in the New York City Chapter,
I'm wondering if you have officially adopted a Safe space policy (also called Friendly space policy) for all the events that are sponsored or closely affiliated with the Wikimedia NYC Chapter?
If not the Wikimedia Foundation and several other chapters have them and could be used as guides.
- Wikimedia Foundation Friendly Space Policy
- Wikimedia DC Friendly space policy
- UK Chapter Participation policy
- Wikimania 2013 Friendly space policy
- Wikimania 2013 submission: "Adopting virtual friendly space policy"
- GLAMcamp DC Friendly Space Policy
- Conference anti-harassment planning and guide from Geek Feminism
An important aspect of the policy is to let the people planning and attending the events to understand that the policy is in place and how to handle problems if they occur. If I'm not able to see the policy, then if you have one it needs to be more clearly promoted. Thanks, Sydney Poore/FloNight (talk) 04:02, 11 February 2015 (UTC)
- Yes, we adopted Friendly space policies (original title Wikimedia New York City/Friendly Space Policy) in Fall 2013, before the page was subsequently generalized so it could be used as a more general page for other communities as well.--Pharos (talk) 04:42, 11 February 2015 (UTC)
- Okay, I see the re-direct. But when I looked, I couldn't see a Friendly space policy that appears to be associated directly with Wikimedia NYC events. Is it formally adopted by the chapter as policy? If so, could you make the policy more evident on a page related to NYC Chapter? And are you making it evident to people planning events in the name of Wikimedia NYC that this policy exists? Sydney Poore/FloNight (talk) 04:50, 11 February 2015 (UTC)
- Yes, that page was originally written as Wikimedia NYC policy (formalized partly in preparation for WikiConference USA), and remains in effect as Wikimedia NYC policy even as the page was somewhat generalized. I agree this should be mentioned more prominently here, and I've made a start at that.--Pharos (talk) 05:09, 11 February 2015 (UTC)
- Thanks, Pharos, I appreciate your prompt attention to the matter. :-) It would be great if the big events that are sponsored by the chapter could have a link the policy page here on meta so that it is more evident that the policy is in effect. Sydney Poore/FloNight (talk) 05:20, 11 February 2015 (UTC)
- Yes, that page was originally written as Wikimedia NYC policy (formalized partly in preparation for WikiConference USA), and remains in effect as Wikimedia NYC policy even as the page was somewhat generalized. I agree this should be mentioned more prominently here, and I've made a start at that.--Pharos (talk) 05:09, 11 February 2015 (UTC)
- Okay, I see the re-direct. But when I looked, I couldn't see a Friendly space policy that appears to be associated directly with Wikimedia NYC events. Is it formally adopted by the chapter as policy? If so, could you make the policy more evident on a page related to NYC Chapter? And are you making it evident to people planning events in the name of Wikimedia NYC that this policy exists? Sydney Poore/FloNight (talk) 04:50, 11 February 2015 (UTC)
This is a message from the 2015 Wikimedia Foundation Elections Committee. Translations are available.
Greetings,
I am pleased to announce that nominations are now being accepted for the 2015 Wikimedia Foundation Elections. This year the Board and the FDC Staff are looking for a diverse set of candidates from regions and projects that are traditionally under-represented on the board and in the movement as well as candidates with experience in technology, product or finance. To this end they have published letters describing what they think is needed and, recognizing that those who know the community the best are the community themselves, the election committee is accepting nominations for community members you think should run and will reach out to those nominated to provide them with information about the job and the election process.
This year, elections are being held for the following roles:
Board of Trustees
The Board of Trustees is the decision-making body that is ultimately responsible for the long term sustainability of the Foundation, so we value wide input into its selection. There are three positions being filled. More information about this role can be found at the board elections page.
Funds Dissemination Committee (FDC)
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 (FDC) Ombud
The FDC Ombud 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 lasts from 00:00 UTC April 20 to 23:59 UTC May 5 for the Board and from 00:00 UTCApril 20 to 23:59 UTC April 30 for the FDC and FDC Ombudsperson. This year, we are accepting both self-nominations and nominations of others. More information on this election and the nomination process can be found on the 2015 Wikimedia elections page on Meta-Wiki.
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, or sent to the election committee's mailing list, board-elections -at- wikimedia.org
On behalf of the Elections Committee,
-Gregory Varnum (User:Varnent)
Coordinator, 2015 Wikimedia Foundation Elections Committee
Posted by the MediaWiki message delivery on behalf of the 2015 Wikimedia Foundation Elections Committee, 04:56, 21 April 2015 (UTC) • Translate • Get help
This is an update from the Wikimedia Affiliations Committee. Translations are available.
The Wikimedia Affiliations Committee is requesting comments on the approval process and agreements for Wikimedia user groups.
Wikimedia user groups are groups of Wikimedia users who support and promote the Wikimedia projects in the offline world by organizing meetups and other projects. The Wikimedia Affiliations Committee's responsibilities include approval of new Wikimedia user groups.
The committee will seek community input until Friday, May 1, 2015. The committee will then review the community's input, and publish the new process and agreements on Meta-Wiki. The committee will again seek community input approximately six months after any changes are adopted to gauge effectiveness and if any additional changes are necessary.
Please see the RFC page on Meta-Wiki for more information and to provide feedback.
Thank you - Wikimedia Affiliations Committee
Posted by MediaWiki message delivery on behalf of the Affiliations Committee, 04:26, 24 April 2015 (UTC) • Translate • Get help • Subscribe or unsubscribe.
This is a message from the 2015 Wikimedia Foundation Elections Committee. Translations are available.
Voting has begun for eligible voters in the 2015 elections for the Funds Dissemination Committee (FDC) and FDC Ombudsperson. Questions and discussion with the candidates for the Funds Dissemination Committee (FDC) and FDC Ombudsperson will continue during the voting. Nominations for the Board of Trustees will be accepted until 23:59 UTC May 5.
The Funds Dissemination Committee (FDC) makes recommendations about how to allocate Wikimedia movement funds to eligible entities. There are five positions on the committee being filled.
The FDC 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.
The voting phase lasts from 00:00 UTC May 3 to 23:59 UTC May 10. Click here to vote. Questions and discussion with the candidates will continue during that time. Click here to ask the FDC candidates a question. Click here to ask the FDC Ombudsperson candidates a question. More information on the candidates and the elections can be found on the 2015 FDC election page, the 2015 FDC Ombudsperson election page, and the 2015 Board election page on Meta-Wiki.
On behalf of the Elections Committee,
-Gregory Varnum (User:Varnent)
Volunteer Coordinator, 2015 Wikimedia Foundation Elections Committee
Posted by the MediaWiki message delivery 03:40, 4 May 2015 (UTC) • Translate • Get help
This is a message from the 2015 Wikimedia Foundation Elections Committee. Translations are available.
Voting has begun for eligible voters in the 2015 elections for the Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees. Questions and discussion with the candidates for the Board will continue during the voting.
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 17 to 23:59 UTC May 31. Click here to vote. More information on the candidates and the elections can be found on the 2015 Board election page on Meta-Wiki.
On behalf of the Elections Committee,
-Gregory Varnum (User:Varnent)
Volunteer Coordinator, 2015 Wikimedia Foundation Elections Committee
Posted by the MediaWiki message delivery 17:20, 17 May 2015 (UTC) • Translate • Get help
Standard communication process
It is really boring doing communication. For most nonprofits, staff do this, for Wikipedia, volunteers historically have managed it. Whenever Wiki groups get funding, typically they turn communication over to staff because volunteers never enjoy this.
The issue is compulsory simultaneous communication in multiple channels. To alert stakeholders to certain events, many communication channels need to be signaled to reach the diverse audience we need to reach. No one volunteer would enjoy doing this.
I found a Wiki group with paid staff that codified their communication process. See en:Wikipedia:The Wikipedia Library/Processes/Announcing partnerships. The page gives a list of ways that they will communicate when they have an important message to give to people who might care.
For this group, eventually, it might be nice if somehow we could simultaneously post announcements for events in the following ways: the English Wikipedia meetup page, through massmessage wiki-subscription, by email list, to Facebook, to Twitter, and meetup.com. We do not have capacity to do this right now but I think the demand exists. Blue Rasberry (talk) 15:11, 14 August 2015 (UTC)
- "Typically"? Sure. "Never" and "no one"? Certainly not true. There are several groups that have cheerfully done (often quite effective) communications on largely and (for years) exclusively volunteer basis. WMIL and WMUA come readily to mind. It may well be the case that in NYC, there are currently no volunteers interested in doing this (which is fine; I didn't enjoy doing it as a past WMIL volunteer either; happily we had people who did.) But that could change, either serendipitously or through deliberate recruitment of a comms person to help out. Asaf (WMF) (talk) 23:11, 14 August 2015 (UTC)
RFC: 2015 Art+Feminism Grant
Art+Feminism has prepared a combined renewal of our IEG grant and PEG grant. If awarded, these grants will fund: childcare and refreshments for the 2016 international Art+Feminism Edit-a-thons; in-person training sessions for New York-city based volunteers and online training sessions national and international node organizers; the expansion of our outreach to post-secondary institutions and international Wikimedia chapters; building sustainable infrastructure for node organizers; and making our materials more intersectional. We seek community comment to help complete the grant process: here -- Theredproject (talk) 00:06, 23 October 2015 (UTC)
This is an update from the Wikimedia Affiliations Committee. Translations are available.
The Wikimedia Affiliations Committee is pleased to introduce the launch of the Wikimedia Affiliates mailing list, which is basically a place for all the affiliates (chapters, thematic organizations, user groups) to discuss issues related to affiliates, make announcements to other affiliates, and collaborate on activities and community-wide events. The idea is to help facilitate the dialogue affiliates across our movement, plus collaborative discussions like community-wide activities, joint edit-a-thons, regional conferences, blog/report posts, or other communications from affiliates.
Each Wikimedia movement affiliate is allocated three spots on the mailing list. All affiliates may contact the Affiliations Committee to request additional spots if needed.
Please find a bit more information on Meta-Wiki and do not hesitate to contact the Affiliations Committee if you have further questions.
Thank you - Wikimedia Affiliations Committee
Posted by MediaWiki message delivery on behalf of the Affiliations Committee, 07:51, 27 October 2015 (UTC) • Translate • Get help • Subscribe or unsubscribe.
This is a message regarding the proposed 2015 Free Bassel banner. Translations are available.
Hi everyone,
This is to inform all Wikimedia contributors that a straw poll seeking your involvement has just been started on Meta-Wiki.
As some of your might be aware, a small group of Wikimedia volunteers have proposed a banner campaign informing Wikipedia readers about the urgent situation of our fellow Wikipedian, open source software developer and Creative Commons activist, Bassel Khartabil. An exemplary banner and an explanatory page have now been prepared, and translated into about half a dozen languages by volunteer translators.
We are seeking your involvement to decide if the global Wikimedia community approves starting a banner campaign asking Wikipedia readers to call on the Syrian government to release Bassel from prison. We understand that a campaign like this would be unprecedented in Wikipedia's history, which is why we're seeking the widest possible consensus among the community.
Given Bassel's urgent situation and the resulting tight schedule, we ask everyone to get involved with the poll and the discussion to the widest possible extent, and to promote it among your communities as soon as possible.
(Apologies for writing in English; please kindly translate this message into your own language.)
Thank you for your participation!
Posted by the MediaWiki message delivery 21:46, 25 November 2015 (UTC) • Translate • Get help
This is an update from the Wikimedia Affiliations Committee. Translations are available.
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 consists of twelve members, six of whom are selected every twelve months for staggered two-year terms.
- 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 try to get a healthy mix of different skill sets in our members. The key skills and experience that we look for in candidates are:
- Excitement by the challenge of helping to empower groups of volunteers worldwide.
- 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 affiliations, and similar questions.
- Availability of up to 5 hours per week, and the time to participate in a monthly ~2 hour voice/video meeting.
- International orientation.
- Very good communication skills in English.
- Ability to work and communicate with other languages and cultures.
- Strong understanding of the structure and work of affiliates and the WMF.
- Knowledge of different legal systems and experience in community building and organising are a plus.
- Effective communication skills in other languages are a major plus.
- Experience with or in an active affiliate is 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 not afraid of the workload and are motivated by helping other volunteers to get organized and form communities that further our mission around the world.
- Selection process
As a reflection of our commitment to openness, transparency, and bilateral engagement with the Wikimedia community, the 2015 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/2015), 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, WMF staff and board liaisons, and the community. A final decision will be made by mid-January 2016, with new members expected to join later that month.
- How to apply
If you are interested in joining the committee, please send an application to affcom@lists.wikimedia.org by 31 December 2015. You will get a confirmation that your application was received.
Your application should include the following:
- Your full name
- Your contact information (including e-mail address and username)
- A statement describing your relevant experience, skills, and motivation for joining the committee.
Your statement will be published for community review and feedback, so please do not include any information that you are not comfortable sharing.
If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to email 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,
Carlos Colina
Chair, Affiliations Committee
Posted by MediaWiki message delivery on behalf of the Affiliations Committee, 16:53, 9 December 2015 (UTC) • Please help translate to your language • Get help • Subscribe or unsubscribe.
This is a message from the Wikimedia Foundation. Translations are available.
As many of you know, January 15 is Wikipedia’s 15th Birthday!
People around the world are getting involved in the celebration and have started adding their events on Meta Page. While we are celebrating Wikipedia's birthday, we hope that all projects and affiliates will be able to utilize this celebration to raise awareness of our community's efforts.
Haven’t started planning? Don’t worry, there’s lots of ways to get involved. Here are some ideas:
- Join/host an event. We already have more than 80, and hope to have many more.
- Talk to local press. In the past 15 years, Wikipedia has accomplished extraordinary things. We’ve made a handy summary of milestones and encourage you to add your own. More resources, including a press release template and resources on working with the media, are also available.
- Design a Wikipedia 15 logo. In place of a single icon for Wikipedia 15, we’re making dozens. Add your own with something fun and representative of your community. Just use the visual guide so they share a common sensibility.
- Share a message on social media. Tell the world what Wikipedia means to you, and add #wikipedia15 to the post. We might re-tweet or share your message!
Everything is linked on the Wikipedia 15 Meta page. You’ll find a set of ten data visualization works that you can show at your events, and a list of all the Wikipedia 15 logos that community members have already designed.
If you have any questions, please contact Zachary McCune or Joe Sutherland.
Thanks and Happy nearly Wikipedia 15!
-The Wikimedia Foundation Communications team
Posted by the MediaWiki message delivery, 20:53, 18 December 2015 (UTC) • Please help translate to your language • Help