Wikimedia Diversity Conference 2013/Documentation/collaborating

Session: Alyssa Wright // Collaborating with other open source communities

Abstract

Wikipedia’s community is not the only technical one tackling questions of diversity in their ranks. What are other open source communities doing to address issues of representation and participation? This workshop is an opportunity to review research and strategies across communities, including recent work within the OpenStreetMap project. A fundamental assumption is that we cannot move a conversation about technical equity alone, it is only by working together that we can build the alliances, dialogue, support, techniques, and accountability required for technical equity.

Starting point / Insights

• Thank yous for organizing and taking part in this conference
• Alyssa has been involved in open street map projects for artistic purposes
• Maps attracted her due to bad sense of direction :-)
• Maps are a tool to orient yourself in the world and also to connect with others.
• Working in Opensource mapping company called [?]
• Returned to OSM to work with the Humanitarian OSM Team (HOT)
• Open street map empowers people, but there are problems

Challenges

• Maps are biased by the norms, traditions, assumptions and political biases of the map maker.
• It is not enough that anyone can contribute to OSM.
• Have been involved with diversity for like ever, but hasn't found an audience until now.

How can we create tools an approaches to cross boundaries?

Diversity: "People complaining about stuff". Stories are noise. Anecdotal evidence doesn't affect decision makers. Data breaks through to decision makers.

Ideas

• Mapping: "performance art", but put it on a map, and it becomes "true". We're now at a cultural point where we're giving validity to data: acknowledge the subjective, narrative aspect of data.
• Look at the curve of number of edits over time: impressive, but boring
• People tend to use data as "bigger is better"-philosophy, pretty boring, narrow
• Using humour for border crossing. Life can't be taken too seriously. Don't blame anyone: laugh about it and change it.

Numbers: [just get them from the presentation]

(American bias)

3-5% of OSM contributors are women!

% women in OSS: 1%

Data as cross platform tools:

• Building tools that can be used across communities.
• Impressed by work done in WM community.
• Little that can be taken from WM and translated to OSM etc.
• It's a larger problem than an individual community.

Analyse the mailing list:

• Rhetorical analysis around the mailing lists. OSM Dev; OSM talk; OSM US: HOT OSM; - Assigned genders by community knowledge and census bureau info.
• See the graphs in the presenation for numbers: HOT-US much more female. Not mapping for the purpose of mapping, but with a goal.

Cross community partnerships:

• reduce the burden across communities
• aggregate the energy of everyone.

Questions / Next steps recommendations

Q: Call to action more than question: Work for OKF, worked with open source for a while - need more community involvement. Open Knowledge Festival organiser. Would like to have festival with all communities. Work together, etc. Also aim towards diversity. A: Would like to have structured dialogue, e.g. in NY projects. Hangout once a month to hold eachother accountable.

Q: Affiliated user group: focussed from WMF: be collaborative, bring in partners. Draw people in - on meta. A: Afternoon break: let's get together.

Q: The graphic with the hand grenade A: If we want to shake things up, the following three slides are the methods.

Comment: If you want to learn about OSM, there's an initiative to map the areas around the typhoon-affected areas. Talk to me if you're interested.