Wikimedia Foundation Community Affairs Committee/Talking: 2024/Interested

Username:Scann (WDU)

• Are you interested in group meetings, individual calls, or both/any?

  Any

• Do you have any preferences who you would like to talk with, or what problem areas you would like to talk about?

  No

• Are you comfortable with English, or would you prefer a meeting with interpretation?

  English is fine

• What hours are you available at?

  11-22 UTC

Hi @Scann, we were waiting for the conference to finish before reaching out and coordinating. Hope you had a successful event and are recovering well. What is your availability like over the next few weeks? MPourzaki (WMF) (talk) 19:24, 21 November 2023 (UTC)

Thanks for your message @MPourzaki (WMF)! I have quite a flexible schedule because activities are winding down in Uruguay as we're approaching the end of the year. I will be travelling Dec 7-11 but other than that I can accomodate. Scann (WDU) (talk) 20:46, 21 November 2023 (UTC)

Username: Valerio Bozzolan

• Are you interested in group meetings, individual calls, or both/any?

  any. I would just like to talk for ~6 minutes and then listen.

• Do you have any preferences who you would like to talk with, or what problem areas you would like to talk about?

  Open source tools for staff to communicate with volunteers (practical problems and proposals)

• Are you comfortable with English, or would you prefer a meeting with interpretation?

  English.

• What hours are you available at?

  Thu: 14:00-18:00 Europe/Rome.

  Fri: 09:00-18:00 Europe/Rome.

  Mon-Wed: 16:00 Europe/Rome.

• External resources:

  Wikimedians for software freedom

• Thank you very much for this super-appreciated invitation. --ValerioBozz (talk) 07:47, 15 October 2023 (UTC)

  Thank you for signing up, looking forward to it. MPourzaki (WMF) (talk) 19:10, 21 November 2023 (UTC)

Username:Theklan

• Are you interested in group meetings, individual calls, or both/any?

  Any, I prefer individual

• Do you have any preferences who you would like to talk with, or what problem areas you would like to talk about?

  I'm still worried by the lack of accountability, by the projects that never end and are abandoned and by the lack of answers to the huge responsabilities we have.

• Are you comfortable with English, or would you prefer a meeting with interpretation?

  English is ok.

• What hours are you available at?

  Western Europe office hours.

Thanks again for your interest @Theklan, looking forward to the conversation. MPourzaki (WMF) (talk) 19:29, 21 November 2023 (UTC)

Username: Hogü-456

• Are you interested in group meetings, individual calls, or both/any?

  I am interested in both, I prefer individual

• Do you have any preferences who you would like to talk with, or what problem areas you would like to talk about?

  I want to talk about the financial situation of the Wikimedia Foundation and about innovations regarding programming.

• Are you comfortable with English, or would you prefer a meeting with interpretation?

  I am comfortable with English

• What hours are you available at?

  16 o-clock UTC o-clock 22 UTC.

Thanks again for your interest @Hogü-456, I'm excited for the conversation ahead. MPourzaki (WMF) (talk) 19:38, 21 November 2023 (UTC)

Username:Wikihacedor

• Are you interested in group meetings, individual calls, or both/any?

  yes

• Do you have any preferences who you would like to talk with, or what problem areas you would like to talk about?

  education

• Are you comfortable with English, or would you prefer a meeting with interpretation?

  slow English is ok

• What hours are you available at?

  mornings GMT-5

Hola @Wikihacedor, thank you for signing up. You had mentioned UTC-5 mornings. An available space I could find is for Wed. Dec. 6 @ 1:15pm GMT-5. Does that still work? More afternoon than morning :) Let me know. MPourzaki (WMF) (talk) 14:24, 22 November 2023 (UTC)

Hi @MPourzaki (WMF)! thank you for your message. I've already received your email and confirmed the meeting. Regards:)Wikihacedor (talk) 13:34, 26 November 2023 (UTC)

Username:OtuNwachinemere

• Are you interested in group meetings, individual calls, or both/any?

  Yes, interested in both

• Do you have any preferences who you would like to talk with, or what problem areas you would like to talk about?

  Wikimedia Commons, Wikipedia inspired career paths, communities and Governance

• Are you comfortable with English, or would you prefer a meeting with interpretation?

  English is ok.

• What hours are you available at?

  Thursdays and Fridays UTC in the AM

Username: Ogalihillary

• Are you interested in group meetings, individual calls, or both/any?

  Group meetings

• Do you have any preferences who you would like to talk with, or what problem areas you would like to talk about?

  Wikimedia Commons, Affiliate

• Are you comfortable with English, or would you prefer a meeting with interpretation?

  I am comfortable with English

• What hours are you available at?

  Evening UTC

Username:Papischou

• Are you interested in group meetings, individual calls, or both/any?

  both

• Do you have any preferences who you would like to talk with, or what problem areas you would like to talk about?

  any! Just discuss about our movement and its challenges

• Are you comfortable with English, or would you prefer a meeting with interpretation?

  a meeting with interpretation in french

• What hours are you available at?

  It's depend on the day. Generally, between 10 a.m to 3 p.m.

Thanks again for signing up @Papischou, looking forward to the conversation. MPourzaki (WMF) (talk) 21:11, 21 November 2023 (UTC)

Username: AmandaSLawrence

• Are you interested in group meetings, individual calls, or both/any?

  group meetings

• Do you have any preferences who you would like to talk with, or what problem areas you would like to talk about?

  Supporting Indigenous editors and content, increasing local membership, running a chapter and capacity building, engaging with the International community and WMF, public knowledge advocacy

• Are you comfortable with English, or would you prefer a meeting with interpretation?

  Yes

• What hours are you available at?

  8 am - 10 pm AEDT (UTC+11)

Thanks again for signing up, really glad we could connect. MPourzaki (WMF) (talk) 21:12, 21 November 2023 (UTC)

Username:bluerasberry

English Wikipedia's community newsletter, The Signpost is the single most popular and organized communication channel for the Wikimedia community to follow Wikimedia Movement news.

• Are you interested in group meetings, individual calls, or both/any?

  I request an individual and video recorded talk with with intent to publish in The Signpost, which is the English Wikipedia's community news source.

• Do you have any preferences who you would like to talk with, or what problem areas you would like to talk about?

  I want to talk with someone who 1) represents the WMF 2) would be recorded and 3) would talk with me about money. Issues which I want to raise include Community Resources/Reports/Funding Report 2022-2023, Knowledge Equity Fund, and en:Wikipedia:Fundraising/2022 banners.

• Are you comfortable with English, or would you prefer a meeting with interpretation?

  English

• What hours are you available at?

  Eastern US time / New York City is my preference, but I will meet anytime to accommodate the person who would talk with me in a journalistic record.

Bluerasberry (talk) 16:43, 23 October 2023 (UTC)

Hi Bluerasberry (talk), thanks for expressing interest in Talking: 2024. The whole premise of this initiative is to have regular catchups and informal conversations with contributors on an ongoing basis, and in particular, to have their input (priorities and concerns) inform the Foundation's annual plan. The conversations have so far been going great and none have been set up as you have requested to be honest. This initiative is not designed to be a journalistic investigation or an interview, and to give special consideration in this case would be unfair to others I feel. For that, please reach out to press@wikimedia. Still, if you like, I would be happy to set up a conversation with you and a senior leader / Trustee of the Foundation. I believe such interactions are important and to our greater benefit. The topics you list above touch upon a few people's areas of work. In order to have the best person / people on the call, would you share your questions here when you have developed them? Should you be interested, I think a call in mid to late Jan would be good in particular to have more to talk about with regards to your last item. You are also very welcome to leave your thoughts on wiki, without a call. Thanks again and catch you around. MPourzaki (WMF) (talk) 21:09, 5 December 2023 (UTC)

@MPourzaki (WMF): and press@wikimedia / Chief Communications @AAlikhan (WMF):

I only want a conversation with someone who enthusiastically consents to it, and if no such person exists, then say so.

I am asking as a Signpost journalist because this community publication reaches the Wikimedia community and broader world at scale. WMF staff already monitor The Signpost editorial room to weigh in on community reporting of Wikimedia Movement finances, as for the recent November issue. I would like to connect with anyone the Wikimedia Foundation authorizes to speak casually about community/foundation relations on movement funds.

I wish that this could be a casual conversation and I see The Signpost as a casual community newsletter, but it would be up to the interviewee to set the tone as serious or formal if they wanted that. Here are some questions we could review. If anyone wanted to counter-negotiate questions, then they could propose their own.

1. Who owns donations to "Wikipedia"? To what extent to donors, the Wikimedia Foundation, and the Wikimedia community have a shared understanding of who controls the pool of Wikimedia Movement funds which come as donations through Wikipedia fundraising?
   1. To what extent is there any distinction between money in control of the foundation versus community?
   2. What is the general financial division of funding in control of the foundation versus community?
2. What is the Wikimedia Foundation Funding Report?
   1. Explain the numbers in, for example, the 2022-2023 report. I could ask about most of them.
   2. When it says that an amount of money went to "community resources", what power sharing exists between the foundation and the community? Is it intended that 100% of this money go to causes freely selected by the Wikimedia community, or does the WMF give the community options to select for spending, or in general what balance of power is there in this resource sharing process?
   3. To what extent does the WMF seek community satisfaction in its management of this program?
   4. What degree of success has the WMF achieved in this program?
3. How significant are community criticisms to the Knowledge Equity Fund?
   1. How has the WMF addressed or resolved these criticisms?
   2. To what extent does the WMF seek community satisfaction in its management of this program?
   3. What degree of success has the WMF achieved in this program?
4. How significant are community criticisms to the Wikipedia:Fundraising process?
   1. How has the WMF addressed or resolved these criticisms?
   2. To what extent does the WMF seek community satisfaction in its management of this program?
   3. What degree of success has the WMF achieved in this program?

There are no right or wrong answers to any of these questions, and I hardly even care about specific wording or phrasing. The point of my asking is to normalize discussion of these difficult topics.

I do not expect that the questions themselves are difficult, because many people have spent years talking about these things. I wish that discussing these things were no big deal. I expect that two people could discuss any of these topics for an hour, but I have four topics here, and propose to raise as many of them as you like just to invite more engaged conversation and questions.

I could refine these questions more, or even better, I could kick them to the Signpost for crowdsourced refinement. Tell me what works for you and I can negotiate. Sure, January meeting is nice for me. Thanks. Bluerasberry (talk) 23:33, 5 December 2023 (UTC)

We know the Signpost well Bluerasberry. It's hard to feel enthusiastic when faced with 16 questions and sub-questions in a 45 minute casual conversation ;P Thanks for sharing these and I hear you about normalizing these topics and the ability to have conversations about them. I'll get back to you with next steps. MPourzaki (WMF) (talk) 17:54, 7 December 2023 (UTC)

I regret that it is weird but there are deep reasons why WMF and community have avoided these questions every day for the past 20 years. Let's try to make this less weird. Thanks for facilitating. Bluerasberry (talk) 18:15, 7 December 2023 (UTC)

Hi @Bluerasberry, happy to pick this thread back up in a new month and new year, particularly after our major fundraising efforts in December. Hope 2024 is off to a great start for you. I am aware that you have also reached out to other colleagues and execs with interview requests. Maybe we try to consolidate your effort and maintain focus on just one interview. Based on your questions, we can make sure key relevant staff are present. I will schedule an interview for you in the next few weeks – mid to late February? – eventhough interviews are outside the scope of this initiative. With close to 100 conversations already done, none have an interview. Feel free to share here or to email me your general availability. In the meantime, please also share a finalized list of key questions to frame the interview. 4 questions each with 3 sub-questions is a lot, we can cluster. If you would like to workshop them with the Signpost, wonderful. 'til then -MPourzaki (WMF) (talk) 23:10, 18 January 2024 (UTC)

@MPourzaki (WMF): Yes, all that sounds good. I asked The Signpost team for guidance at en:Wikipedia_talk:Wikipedia_Signpost/Newsroom#Wikimedia_Foundation_video_interview_for_The_Signpost. I will see what they say about focus and questions, then come back to you. Bluerasberry (talk) 21:15, 19 January 2024 (UTC)

@MPourzaki (WMF): I want to back up and ask you about the enthusiasm of any Wikimedia Foundation staff to be interviewed for The Signpost. Is there anyone or any team that seems eager for this? The general theme in my questions is "WMF/community relations", discussing any differences to get mutual understanding and improved collaboration. If this has happened 100 times privately with no public discussions, then I would rather try this first time with someone who likes the idea enough to volunteer. Depending on that person's team, the focus might change.

As you noted there are lots of questions above. Can you anticipate that anyone in particular would enjoy publicly discussing any of them? Bluerasberry (talk) 17:14, 22 January 2024 (UTC)

Hey @Bluerasberry, when good faith is assumed and people approach such engagements with curiosity and a desire to share and learn rather than assumptions and accusations, then enthusiasm has space to grow. I like what you wrote at the link above about hopefully setting a precedent for regular engagements between community members and Foundation staff. I'll get back to you shortly. MPourzaki (WMF) (talk) 15:22, 23 January 2024 (UTC)

Hey @Bluerasberry, happy to share that Megan Hernandez, VP of Fundraising, and James Baldwin, Senior Director of Finance Strategy and Planning, have volunteered to participate in your Signpost interview. Kindly share 3-4 key questions to frame the 40-minute conversation. Please also share your general availability with me throughout February. Take care. MPourzaki (WMF) (talk) 16:11, 29 January 2024 (UTC)

┌─────────────────────────────────┘
@MPourzaki (WMF): I am in conferences till 20 February and hard for me to meet. I am available most of EST office hours these days

• Wed 21 Feb
• Fri 23 Feb
• Wed 28 Feb
• Thurs 29 Feb

If any of these work, then let's try. Below are more than four questions, but I hope this looks like for 4 discussion themes. Wikipedia operates with a degree of user and community empowerment that is unusual. We discuss this in the context of money.

1. Intros - what is fundraising and finance strategy?
2. The Wikipedia community participates in design of the fundraising process, en:Wikipedia:Fundraising/2022 banners. How common is this kind of community participation in fundraising? How does that work?
3. What is the nature of decision-making and power-sharing for Wikimedia financial decisions? Who are the stakeholders, and how do they cooperate?
4. What parts of all this work well, and why? What parts of this are challenging, and why?

Thanks. Bluerasberry (talk) 17:16, 6 February 2024 (UTC)

Hey @Bluerasberry, thanks a lot for sharing these. Looking forward to the conversation. The invitation was sent over last week. Just so we plan around the conversation and the format better, as well as the follow-up, were you planning to publish this in the Signpost as a question and answer interview style, a long-form opinion piece, or another format? Chat with you later in Feb. MPourzaki (WMF) (talk) 19:56, 12 February 2024 (UTC)

@MPourzaki (WMF): My intent is post the entire recorded conversation to The Signpost along with text transcript. The interview itself will be with basic context, like links to relevant concepts, and intended as a source for basic information to which anyone else may point their reactions. Someone other than me may produce a separate Signpost opinion piece with interpretation or commentary.

I am excited for this! I think Wikipedia is overdue for video journalism and conversation, but without trying things like this out it is challenging to anticipate the audience demand. Bluerasberry (talk) 14:04, 13 February 2024 (UTC)

Thanks for letting us know. Yeah, that was my initial thought, whether there would be any interest in an entire recorded conversation + text without any summarizing or authoring for a published piece. MPourzaki (WMF) (talk) 15:21, 13 February 2024 (UTC)

Hey @Bluerasberry, looking forward to next week's conversation. Late Feb / early March is a busy period at the Foundation with Annual Planning, so some of our execs have been pulled into other meetings. Would it be ok with you to shorten the length to 30 minutes?

As mentioned, since this is outside the scope of a casual, informal, conversation meant for Talking:2024, we will treat this interaction as a formal media interview. We wanted to double check that these are indeed the questions you plan on covering during our time together. Since you don't plan on any editorial interventions in the article, what about the video? Where and how do you plan on using the video? This will help us prepare most efficiently for our time together. Thanks again and see you next week. MPourzaki (WMF) (talk) 17:37, 21 February 2024 (UTC)

@MPourzaki (WMF): I plan to publish the video in entirety in The Signpost with a transcript. The questions I presented are the ones that I intend to ask, although I made an error: I said that I would ask about the 2022 banners, but actually I want to ask about what I see as the entire conversation process about the banners.

I hear that you are treating this as a formal media interview, and I will meet you where you are, but I wish that chats between Wikimedia Foundation staff and community members could be casual, as The Signpost is a community volunteer newsletter. It happened that this planning has led to more formality than my expectation. Sure, we can do 30 minutes rather than 40. Bluerasberry (talk) 21:56, 22 February 2024 (UTC)

Username: AmandaNP, on behalf of Stewards

• Are you interested in group meetings, individual calls, or both/any?

  Group meeting (Stewards)

• Do you have any preferences who you would like to talk with, or what problem areas you would like to talk about?

  We'd like to talk with Maryana on topics related to Steward work and development.

• Are you comfortable with English, or would you prefer a meeting with interpretation?

  Yes

• What hours are you available at?

  Amanda: Eastern time, varying hours, with a blackout weekdays, 12pm to 4pm - Please communicate by email for times. Stewards: varies, maybe we can use a survey to setup times?

Hi @AmandaNP, thank you for signing up and your willingness to participate. We would love to have a conversation with you one on one, along with any fellow Stewards or others you suggest, or with our distinguished Stewards as a big group. Whatever suits, we are keen to hear from you. Please let us know some convenient times that work for you. MPourzaki (WMF) (talk) 21:10, 21 November 2023 (UTC)

Username: Sj

• Are you interested in group meetings, individual calls, or both/any?

  One or the other (if well-clustered)

• Do you have any preferences who you would like to talk with, or what problem areas you would like to talk about?

  Problem areas: speed + unblocking in design + tech, removing self-imposed obstacles to delegation, supporting community maintenance, increasing risk tolerance

• Are you comfortable with English, or would you prefer a meeting with interpretation?

  Yes and yes

• What hours are you available at?

  Best times: 1900-0300 UTC

Hi Sj. Thanks again for signing up. Glad we could make this manifest in person at WikiCon. Always happy to continue the conversation on calls. MPourzaki (WMF) (talk) 21:14, 21 November 2023 (UTC)

Username: Olugold

• Are you interested in group meetings, individual calls, or both/any?

  Any

• Do you have any preferences who you would like to talk with, or what problem areas you would like to talk about?

  Problem areas I'll like to talk about are:

  • Promoting the use of smartphones for editing and giving guidance or support to smartphones users through the use of tools or pop up/ notice.
  • How upcoming communities can raise funds within the communities they belong and also learning from experienced communities that have successfully raised funds in the past
  • Ways to improve the sustainability of new editors especially youths. Any strategy or strategies put in place to encourage new volunteers
• Are you comfortable with English, or would you prefer a meeting with interpretation?

  I'm okay with English

• What hours are you available at?

  Wednesdays and Fridays 10:00am WAT or 11:00 UTC

Hi @Olugold, thanks for signing up. Sent you an invite at 11am UTC per your suggestion. Looking forward to the conversation. MPourzaki (WMF) (talk) 21:06, 21 November 2023 (UTC)

Username: Sandra Aceng

• Are you interested in group meetings, individual calls, or both/any?

  individual calls

• Do you have any preferences who you would like to talk with, or what problem areas you would like to talk about?

  I would like to have a chat with Wikimedia Foundation CEO, Maryana Iskander on diversity and inclusion on Wikimedia and digital rights, Board related aspects, among others.

• Are you comfortable with English, or would you prefer a meeting with interpretation?

  I am comfortable with English

• What hours are you available at?

  21:00 hours of EAT.

Thanks again for taking the time to participate @Sandra. It was a pleasure to connect with you. MPourzaki (WMF) (talk) 20:49, 21 November 2023 (UTC)

Thank you for offering the space to talk as well @MPourzaki (WMF) means a lot to me and entire community. Sandra Aceng (talk) 11:56, 30 November 2023 (UTC)

Username: Rachmat (WMID)

• Are you interested in group meetings, individual calls, or both/any?

  Any.

• Do you have any preferences who you would like to talk with, or what problem areas you would like to talk about?

  I am interested in talking about how we can expand in the tech space (and contribute to the work the Foundation is doing, if any), getting support for upcoming programs, and how the Foundation perceives WMID's presence in the ESEAP region.

• Are you comfortable with English, or would you prefer a meeting with interpretation?

  Yes

• What hours are you available at?

  10:00 am - 6.00 pm (UTC+7)

Thank you for making time and your interest. Looking forward to the conversation. MPourzaki (WMF) (talk) 20:48, 21 November 2023 (UTC)

Username:Olaniyan Olushola (WUGN)

• Are you interested in group meetings, individual calls, or both/any?

  Any

• Do you have any preferences who you would like to talk with, or what problem areas you would like to talk about?

  No

• Are you comfortable with English, or would you prefer a meeting with interpretation?

  English is fine

• What hours are you available at?

  11-16 UTC+1

Hi @Shola, thank you for signing up. Looking forward to the conversation. MPourzaki (WMF) (talk) 20:40, 21 November 2023 (UTC)

Thank you,@MPourzaki (WMF): for the invite, i am also looking forwad to it. --Olaniyan Olushola (talk) 06:16, 2 December 2023 (UTC)

Username:Nataev

• Are you interested in group meetings, individual calls, or both/any?

  Both

• Do you have any preferences who you would like to talk with, or what problem areas you would like to talk about?

  Not really, but would love to discuss supporting smaller communities and our experience partnering with a government agency

• Are you comfortable with English, or would you prefer a meeting with interpretation?

  Comfortable with English

• What hours are you available at?

  10:00 am - 6.00 pm EST (GMT-5)

Thank you so much for signing up Nataev, looking forward to our conversation in January. MPourzaki (WMF) (talk) 18:33, 5 December 2023 (UTC)

Username: Mervat

• Are you interested in group meetings, individual calls, or both/any?

  Any

• Do you have any preferences who you would like to talk with, or what problem areas you would like to talk about?

  No preferences of who to talk with. but I would like to discuss equity and inclusion within the movement and the representation of communities within the foundation and governance bodies.

• Are you comfortable with English, or would you prefer a meeting with interpretation?

  Yes, English is OK.

• What hours are you available at?

  16:00, 17:00 UTC any day.

Thank you so much for signing up @Mervat and your interest to participate. I have sent you an invite for January 9 @ your preferred time. MPourzaki (WMF) (talk) 18:55, 4 December 2023 (UTC)

Received, thanks. Mervat (talk) 20:04, 4 December 2023 (UTC)

Username:Alli Khalil

• Are you interested in group meetings, individual calls, or both/any?

  Any

• Do you have any preferences who you would like to talk with, or what problem areas you would like to talk about?

  No Preferences, Just want to discuss the challenges within our community and my family's experience + some thoughts on the mobile app and technologies

• Are you comfortable with English, or would you prefer a meeting with interpretation?

  English is ok

• What hours are you available at?

  Saturdays & Sundays, Afternoon UTC time

Hi Alli Khalil, I have sent you an email about your availability. Thank you. MPourzaki (WMF) (talk) 18:52, 4 December 2023 (UTC)

Username: Mrb Rafi

• Are you interested in group meetings, individual calls, or both/any?

  Both, but will expect at least one individual call.

• Do you have any preferences who you would like to talk with, or what problem areas you would like to talk about?

  I want to meet Jimmy, and preferably Mariana. My focus topic will be community support from the foundation, specially in South Asia and also the affiliate structure, overall movement governance, changed community and staff reality in the face of revenue decline.

• Are you comfortable with English, or would you prefer a meeting with interpretation?

  Yes, I'm completely fine with English.

• What hours are you available at?

  Preferably 1pm UTC to 7pm UTC, except Saturdays and Thursdays. But can be changed depending on the situation that arrives.

Hi @Mrb Rafi, thank you for signing up. I have sent you an invite for January 10 per your timezone preference. Please let me know if it doesn't work for you. Looking forward to the conversation. MPourzaki (WMF) (talk) 18:39, 4 December 2023 (UTC)

Nom d’utilisateur :ErnestKM

• Êtes-vous intéressé par des réunions de groupe, des appels individuels, ou les deux ?

  ...oui oui

• Avez-vous des préférences quant aux personnes avec lesquelles vous aimeriez parler, ou quant aux problèmes que vous aimeriez aborder ?

  ...pas du tout

• Êtes-vous à l'aise en anglais ou préférez-vous un entretien avec un interprète ?

  ... oui oui

• Quelles sont vos heures de disponibilité ?

  ... n'importe quel heure

Username:VIGNERON / Wikisource community

• Are you interested in group meetings, individual calls, or both/any?

  Group meeting

• Do you have any preferences who you would like to talk with, or what problem areas you would like to talk about?

  The Wikisource community

• Are you comfortable with English, or would you prefer a meeting with interpretation?

  I'm ok with English, other Wikisource editors might not be

• What hours are you available at?

  A large part of the Wikisource community is located in Asia

• Other interrested Wikisource people

  • Sohom Datta (talk · contribs) (I'm willing to attend such a session anytime next week onwards)
  • NANöR (talk · contribs)

Thank you for reaching out VIGNERON. It looks like we already have interest from others too :) I'll message you to coordinate a suitable time. Please let me know your general availability and timezone preferences. MPourzaki (WMF) (talk) 21:21, 13 December 2023 (UTC)

Username: NikosLikomitros / CEE Youth Group

• Are you interested in group meetings, individual calls, or both/any?

  Group meeting

• Do you have any preferences who you would like to talk with, or what problem areas you would like to talk about?

  In continuation to the earlier CEE Hub call, we want to introduce Maryana in what we do. We want to discuss how youth engagement in Wikimedia projects can grow, why there is youth gap in Wikimedia and the particular challenges youth contributors are facing. This will also be a session to sensitivise the need to improve the presence of Youth contributors. Ways also how youth contribution can grow and how social media can help for this. So, I propose a call with members from the CEE Youth Group.

• Are you comfortable with English, or would you prefer a meeting with interpretation?

  Everyone knows English in a conversational level.

• Other interrested CEE Youth Group people

• What hours are you available at?

  I did a vote on our telegram chat. 8 people voted in favour and 2 against. All of those who voted in favour prefer that the meetup takes place around 6 pm UTC. Also, in January 17th we have our regular meeting, so I would like that the meeting take place around mid to late February.

NikosLikomitros (talk) 10:34, 15 December 2023 (UTC)

Username: Ngostary2k

• Are you interested in group meetings, individual calls, or both/any?

  I am inteested in both. I can do individual calls and group calls too.

• Do you have any preferences who you would like to talk with, or what problem areas you would like to talk about?

  Not exactly. I can talk with anyone. I have many subjects to.talk about. However, I would love to discuss on sponsorships and time space for obtaining visas. This is so poorly done that participants miss there rare opportunities

• Are you comfortable with English, or would you prefer a meeting with interpretation?

  I am comfortable with English

• What hours are you available at?

  In the evening GMT

Username:Royalesignature (talk)

• Are you interested in group meetings, individual calls, or both/any?

  ... Both

• Do you have any preferences who you would like to talk with, or what problem areas you would like to talk about?

  ...No

• Are you comfortable with English, or would you prefer a meeting with interpretation?

  ...Yes

• What hours are you available at?

  ...In the evening GMT is fine with me

Username:

• Are you interested in group meetings, individual calls, or both/any?

  any

• Do you have any preferences who you would like to talk with, or what problem areas you would like to talk about?

  Wikisource

• Are you comfortable with English, or would you prefer a meeting with interpretation?

  prefer a meeting with interpretation

• What hours are you available at?

  after 5 utc all das...

Username: jackbwheeler

• Are you interested in group meetings, individual calls, or both/any?

  ...Any!

• Do you have any preferences who you would like to talk with, or what problem areas you would like to talk about?

  ...I'm more curious to listen and hear from others.

• Are you comfortable with English, or would you prefer a meeting with interpretation?

  ...English please,

• What hours are you available at?

  ...US Central Time.

Username:Semmy1960 (talk) 15:36, 7 January 2024 (UTC)

• Are you interested in group meetings, individual calls, or both/any?

  any

• Do you have any preferences who you would like to talk with, or what problem areas you would like to talk about?

  I would like to have a chat with Wikimedia Foundation CEO, Maryana Iskander,and I want to talk about education, welfare for volunteers and funding issues

• Are you comfortable with English, or would you prefer a meeting with interpretation?

  English

• What hours are you available at?

  Wednesdays and Thursdays from 11.00UTC, 12.00 WAT

Username: Alhassan Mohammed Awal (talk) 21:01, 11 January 2024 (UTC)

• Are you interested in group meetings, individual calls, or both/any?

  Individual Calls

• Do you have any preferences who you would like to talk with, or what problem areas you would like to talk about?

  Research team member(s), Grant Committee member(s), and the Affiliation committee member(s)

• Are you comfortable with English, or would you prefer a meeting with interpretation?

  English

• What hours are you available at?

  14UTC-17UTC (In a time zone UTC+00)

Aschmidt (talk) 18:59, 14 January 2024 (UTC)

• Interessierst du dich für Gruppengespräche, Einzelgespräche oder beides?

  Gerne beides, wenn es sich anbietet.

• Hast du bestimmte Präferenzen, mit wem du gerne sprechen möchtest oder über welche Problembereiche?

  Mich würde die Sicherung und die Entwicklung der Qualität von Wikipedia besonders interessieren.

• Fühlst du dich auf Englisch wohl oder würdest du ein Gespräch mit Simultanübersetzung bevorzugen?

  Englisch wäre in Ordnung. Schön wäre es, wenn wir eine Gruppe von deutschsprachigen Wikipedianer/inn/en bilden könnten, denn die Lage stellt sich je nach Sprachversion jeweils anders dar.

• Zu welchen Zeiten bist du verfügbar?

  In der Regel ab 19 Uhr ME(S)Z = 18 Uhr UTC (entsprechend 17 Uhr UTC während der Sommerzeit).

RebeccaRwanda (talk ^{16:52, 17 January 2024 (UTC)}

• Are you interested in group meetings, individual calls, or both/any?

  both/Any

• Do you have any preferences who you would like to talk with, or what problem areas you would like to talk about?

  1.Movement Strategy towards underrepresented Communities growth and engagement

  2.Community partnerships with governments

• Are you comfortable with English, or would you prefer a meeting with interpretation?

  English

• What hours are you available at?

  8Am to 9am GMT, or you can communicate what works for you. --RebeccaRwanda (talk 16:52, 17 January 2024 (UTC)

Username:Dyolf77

• Are you interested in group meetings, individual calls, or both/any?

  both

• Do you have any preferences who you would like to talk with, or what problem areas you would like to talk about?

  ...

• Are you comfortable with English, or would you prefer a meeting with interpretation?

  Yes, English is okay for me.

• What hours are you available at?

  Every day from 4pm to 6pm UTC except Tuesdays

Username: bogreudell

• Are you interested in group meetings, individual calls, or both/any?

  Individual calls

• Do you have any preferences who you would like to talk with, or what problem areas you would like to talk about?

  No preference. Just want to be helpful.

• Are you comfortable with English, or would you prefer a meeting with interpretation?

  Comfortable with English

• What hours are you available at?

  Usually flexible, M-Th, after 11am ET (NYC time)

Bogreudell (talk) 18:57, 18 January 2024 (UTC)

Username: BamLifa

• Are you interested in group meetings, individual calls, or both/any?

  group

• Do you have any preferences who you would like to talk with, or what problem areas you would like to talk about?

  No preference. Just want to be helpful.

• Are you comfortable with English, or would you prefer a meeting with interpretation?

  Yes, but my community speaks French

• What hours are you available at?

  4pm - 8pm UTC

BamLifa (talk) 08:43, 23 January 2024 (UTC)

Username:beheme

• Are you interested in group meetings, individual calls, or both/any?

  both but preferably group

• Do you have any preferences who you would like to talk with, or what problem areas you would like to talk about?

  the mother-tongue contribution month by WikiLinguila

• Are you comfortable with English, or would you prefer a meeting with interpretation?

  a meeting with interpretation in french

• What hours are you available at?

  Generally, between 4 p.m to 20 p.m (UTC)

Username:Vic Sfriso (WMAR)

• Are you interested in group meetings, individual calls, or both/any?

  Group meetings

• Do you have any preferences who you would like to talk with, or what problem areas you would like to talk about?

  I don't whant to talk to anyone in particular. Regarding problem areas, I am interested in under represented communities from the Global South, engagement and strategy

• Are you comfortable with English, or would you prefer a meeting with interpretation?

  English is OK

• What hours are you available at?

  10:00 - 18:00 UTC-3

Nombre de usuario: ProtoplasmaKid

• ¿Está interesado en reuniones grupales, llamadas individuales o ambas opciones/cualquiera?

  Both, prioritizing an individual call

• ¿Tiene alguna preferencia con quién le gustaría hablar o sobre qué áreas problemáticas le gustaría hablar?

  No

• ¿Se siente cómodo con el inglés o prefiere una reunión con interpretación?

  English is fine

• ¿En qué horario está disponible?

  10:00 - 14:00 UTC-6

Username: llywrch

• Are you interested in group meetings, individual calls, or both/any?

  Either works.

• Do you have any preferences who you would like to talk with, or what problem areas you would like to talk about?

  I'll speak with anyone. My concerns include (1) Direct support for content editors; & (2) mission creep by the Foundation.

• Are you comfortable with English, or would you prefer a meeting with interpretation?

  English is fine

• What hours are you available at?

• Evenings (i.e. 1800-2200 PST)

(All of this depends on whether you are still soliciting input, of course.)

Username: TaronjaSatsuma

• Are you interested in group meetings, individual calls, or both/any?

  Either works. The group would be Wikivibrance.

• Do you have any preferences who you would like to talk with, or what problem areas you would like to talk about?

  Maryana, Areas:Wikimedia+Youth

• Are you comfortable with English, or would you prefer a meeting with interpretation?

  English is fine

• What hours are you available at?

• Flexible.

Nombre de usuario: Pilar de la Prieta (WMES)

• ¿Está interesado en reuniones grupales, llamadas individuales o ambas opciones/cualquiera?

  Grupal con miembros de Wikimedia España

• ¿Tiene alguna preferencia con quién le gustaría hablar o sobre qué áreas problemáticas le gustaría hablar?

  Maryana si es posible. Si no, alguien encargado de comunidades

• ¿Se siente cómodo con el inglés o prefiere una reunión con interpretación?

  Preferimos interpretación a español

• ¿En qué horario está disponible?

  Los Lunes o Martes entre 17:00h-20:00h (CET)

Username:RightCowLeftCoast

• Are you interested in group meetings, individual calls, or both/any?

  I request an opportunity for my user group, San Diego Wikimedians User Group, to have a group call to be able to voice our individual opinions.

• Do you have any preferences who you would like to talk with, or what problem areas you would like to talk about?

  The topic would be about potential proposed changes to affiliate requirements.

• Are you comfortable with English, or would you prefer a meeting with interpretation?

  The majority of the user group utilize American English as their primary language.

• What hours are you available at?

  Ideally the time would be during the evening in the Pacific Time Zone (San Francisco, Los Angeles, Vancouver).

--RightCowLeftCoast (talk) 16:36, 8 February 2024 (UTC)

Username:Whittey1

• ...

Aloha, What is the address for the event in west Hollywood today?

Username: Galahad

• Are you interested in group meetings, individual calls, or both/any?

  Individual calls

• Do you have any preferences who you would like to talk with, or what problem areas you would like to talk about?

  Affiliate process, Support on Wikipedia projects, especially the projects that are not developed and ways to promote their development

• Are you comfortable with English, or would you prefer a meeting with interpretation?

  My main language is Spanish, so I would like interpretation

• What hours are you available at?

  18:00 UTC onwards until 0:00 UTC

Best, --Galahad (sasageyo!)^(esvoy) 23:50, 17 February 2024 (UTC)

Username: Camelia

• Are you interested in group meetings, individual calls, or both/any?

  Both

• Do you have any preferences who you would like to talk with, or what problem areas you would like to talk about?

  Any area is important, but quite urgent grants for affiliates and governance.

• Are you comfortable with English, or would you prefer a meeting with interpretation?

  Yes

• What hours are you available at?

  After 6 PM CET possibly

--Camelia (talk) 16:13, 20 February 2024 (UTC)

Username:Anita Braga

• Are you interested in group meetings, individual calls, or both/any?

  Both

• Do you have any preferences who you would like to talk with, or what problem areas you would like to talk about?

  Grants and equity, governance and T&S reporting flow

• Are you comfortable with English, or would you prefer a meeting with interpretation?

  Yes

• What hours are you available at?

  Thursdays, 10:00 to 18:00 (UTC)

--Anita Braga (talk) 18:58, 21 February 2024 (UTC)

Username:

• Are you interested in group meetings, individual calls, or both/any?

  Yes

• Do you have any preferences who you would like to talk with, or what problem areas you would like to talk about?

  Not really

• Are you comfortable with English, or would you prefer a meeting with interpretation?

  English

• What hours are you available at?

  UTC time in the Day

Username: Ilario

• Are you interested in group meetings, individual calls, or both/any?

  group meetings

• Do you have any preferences who you would like to talk with, or what problem areas you would like to talk about?

  I am requesting a meeting with Wikimedia CH (I am innovation lead in Wikimedia CH) as Wikimedia CH is one of few chapter which is really multilingual (there is not a lingua franca in Switzerland) and really multicultural (30% of people living in Switzerland don't speak a Swiss national language) and to consider that Switzerland is considered the most innovative country. I consider that Switzerland can be considered as a model for the future hubs as the management of different cultures, languages, interest, is a daily problem.

• Are you comfortable with English, or would you prefer a meeting with interpretation?

  Surely in ENglish

• What hours are you available at?

  CET, working hours

Username:CommonKnowledgeCreator

• Are you interested in group meetings, individual calls, or both/any?

  Either.

• Do you have any preferences who you would like to talk with, or what problem areas you would like to talk about?

  No preference of whom I would like to talk with, but would like to discuss a Village pump (idea lab) discussion I initiated 22 February 2024 about a proposed "Content Policy Committee" for Wikipedia and potential follow-ups to an October 2023 YouGov poll about Wikipedia participation in the United States that I cited in the discussion.

• Are you comfortable with English, or would you prefer a meeting with interpretation?

  English preferable.

• What hours are you available at?

  I am available after 21:30 UTC on Mondays through Fridays, and after 13:00 UTC on Saturdays and Sundays.

Username: Susannaanas

• Are you interested in group meetings, individual calls, or both/any?

  I prefer individual calls, but I am open for other formats as well.

• Do you have any preferences who you would like to talk with, or what problem areas you would like to talk about?

  I am interested in talking in favor of GLAM, highlighting several issues:

  • Institutional data together with the human-made curation in the Wikimedia projects becomes an invaluable resource for verified information in contrast to the AI-generated synthetic data. We need to strengthen working with partnerships, facilitate information workflows, and support novice and "guest" contributors better.
  • On the other hand, while focusing on mainstream data we are more and more shadowing more challenging data. We should address how to better share cultural heritage materials that also need protection or conditional sharing in order not to exclude them from the open ecosystem.
  • We should give this diverse community extending beyond the limits of Wikimedia "residents" a voice in decision-making.
• Are you comfortable with English, or would you prefer a meeting with interpretation?

  Yes

• What hours are you available at?

  Office hours EET/EEST

Username: Spinster

• Are you interested in group meetings, individual calls, or both/any?

  Both.

• Do you have any preferences who you would like to talk with, or what problem areas you would like to talk about?

  A sustainable and workable approach to batch contribution software in the Wikimedia movement (batch upload, batch editing) and the media commons ecosystem in general (including platforms like Internet Archive, Flickr...). I have worked with OpenRefine for a few years now, and based on that experience would recommend the Wikimedia movement to really take batch contribution software in our own hands. I can talk about pros/cons/considerations with regards to several other approaches already taken on volunteer and affiliate initiative too: QuickStatements, Pattypan, GLAMwiki Toolset, and various other volunteer-built batch contribution tools. I also have thoughts re: who should ideally own this work to make and keep it sustainable.

• Are you comfortable with English, or would you prefer a meeting with interpretation?

  I'm comfortable with English.

• What hours are you available at?

  Pretty flexible during the European daytime (including early morning or evening) on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays.

• Update from Spinster (talk) 06:17, 8 April 2024 (UTC) - I have been invited to talk with Selena Deckelmann! Here's what I wrote in a follow up preparation email:

  I have the following points I would like to talk about with Selena:

  My observations after working with OpenRefine (max 30 minutes). I am curious to hear Selena's opinions based on her experience of being a leader in open source software herself.

  Asking Selena whether her input at the Montevideo GLAMwiki conference still stands: that she still thinks the current landscape of volunteer-built batch software is unsustainable, and if she is still willing to move forward on having WMF Product work on this (i.e. develop software in house).

  If so: what she needs from folks from the community like me in order to push things forward

  If not: some brainstorming re: alternatives

Username:ChabbieCee

• Are you interested in group meetings, individual calls, or both/any?

  Individual call as I have a particular problem

• Do you have any preferences who you would like to talk with, or what problem areas you would like to talk about?

  No preferences

• Are you comfortable with English, or would you prefer a meeting with interpretation?

  I am comfortable with English yes

• What hours are you available at?

  1900 London Time

Username: stjn

• Are you interested in group meetings, individual calls, or both/any?

  Both with preference for individual calls (easier to manage). stjn^[ru] 22:32, 17 April 2024 (UTC)

• Do you have any preferences who you would like to talk with, or what problem areas you would like to talk about?

  To be frank, it is difficult to say concretely. Can be a fairly productive conversation in the following fields: 1) Web accessibility and inclusion, and all the things the WMF should’ve done 10 years ago in that regard; 2) IP Masking and related issues given the future rollout; 3) tech-related community engagement/support. I have a lot of current things I have opinions on in tech-related fields and definitely can raise some areas where it feels to me that not a lot seems to be done (other than the usual Graphs/Maps bingo). stjn^[ru] 22:32, 17 April 2024 (UTC)

• Are you comfortable with English, or would you prefer a meeting with interpretation?

  English is more than fine. stjn^[ru] 22:32, 17 April 2024 (UTC)

• What hours are you available at?

  12:00 UTC — 22:00 UTC, provided scheduled in advance. stjn^[ru] 22:32, 17 April 2024 (UTC)

Username:

• Are you interested in group meetings, individual calls, or both/any?

  individual calls

• Do you have any preferences who you would like to talk with, or what problem areas you would like to talk about?

  no

• Are you comfortable with English, or would you prefer a meeting with interpretation?

  yes

• What hours are you available at?

  5.15

Fulani215

• Are you interested in group meetings, individual calls, or both/any?

  Both

• Do you have any preferences who you would like to talk with, or what problem areas you would like to talk about?

  (No actually but this is my problem) Fulfulde Wikipedia is an unrecognized user group operating all over Nigeria and some part of African countries, our president in the user group stop organizing the monthly Meetup, edit-a-thon, chronicle Among others in short

We don't have a leadership again in our local wiki ( Fulfulde Wikipedia community user group) following the absent of the leadership role for decades, so we are calling for the intervention of Affcom to restore the movement of Fulfulde Wikipedia. am writing this on behalf of the remaining editor's in Fulfulde Wikipedia.

• Are you comfortable with English, or would you prefer a meeting with interpretation?

  Yes

• What hours are you available at?

  9:00 pm GMT

WereSpielChequers

Are you interested in group meetings, individual calls, or both/any? I'm a regular at the London meetup, but also happy to zoom etc.

Do you have any preferences who you would like to talk with, or what problem areas you would like to talk about?

Any organisation needs to look at the the problems it can address and then try to find ways of doing so. I think that we should shift focus to retention rather than recruitment

About a dozen years ago when the editing community appeared to be contracting, and by some measures did contract between late 2007 and late 2014, there was a big pivot in the movement towards outreach, and trying to recruit more community members. On the English language Wikipedia the 2015 rally has now persisted into 2024, editing levels oscillate, but above the late 2015 nadir. Recruitment remains strong - every year vast numbers of people click that edit button and make their first edit or two. Retention as ever remains dire, our marketing bucket is so shallow it looks more like a gold pan than a bucket, many many people make their first few edits, few go on to take up editing as a hobby.

One option on this would be to go back to our earliest GLAM outreach programs such as the original British Museum editathon or the backstage passes or the photography events. That hobby you have of writing an encyclopaedia on the internet? It is now getting you invitations to attend interesting events at prestigious or local cultural institutions. I've just had a quick check on the current activity of the Wikipedian participants in the original editathon at the British Museum. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:GLAM/British_Museum/Hoxne_challenge#Participants There were 8 of us who signed up to attend in person, plus Liam the organiser. Over 14 years later 6 of those nine are still very active Wikimedians. Two of the online participants were active until their deaths. If we think of volunteer recruitment and retention in terms of the marketing bucket, widening the rim still further to get a few extra people to try editing is unlikely to be as effective as measures to make the bucket deeper - improve retention by getting more of the people who have done a few edits or a few hundred edits to take up editing as a hobby.

If we do run events where the expected attendees are outside the community, then to paraphrase HJ Mitchell we should remember that we are selling a hobby, and one that involves donating time to a charity. So we want audiences of people who are at least sufficiently altruistic that they volunteer to help charities. Or like people at a retirement fair, they are actively looking for new hobbies.

In terms of mixing paid and volunteer staff, never an easy thing especially in a predominately volunteer organisation, I would commend the explicit strategy of "the staff are there to do things that volunteers want to have happen, but aren't volunteering to do".

Because of the endowment, there is a big opportunity for the movement and the cultural sector. At some point in the near future the WMF endowment will have grown to the point where the WMF could make the commitment that Wikimedia Commons has the funding to be around for the foreseeable future. Similar commitments could be made re WikiSource and Wikidata. This would be a big deal for the cultural sector. We should aim to be recognised as a repository for digital archives, We should lobby the cultural sector and its funders that every digitised collection should be in multiple longterm depositaries such as Wikimedia Commons.

We do have a huge geographic skew in our community, and a potential way to address that. Our current methods of blocking IP addresses including range blocks and hard blocking of IP addresses used by blocked editors. These blocking policies have significant collateral damage in blocking potential new editors who have inherited a blocked IP from a vandal. Clearing old IP blocks, say after 12 months,would increase recruitment of new editors. Do it in the countries where our community is weakest means any extra vandalism would be minor for a global project, but we would be more open for new people in the countries where we have fewest volunteers.

Are you comfortable with English, or would you prefer a meeting with interpretation? Yes What hours are you available at? I'm in London and can do most times except when its night in London

Username:PutriAmalia1991

• Are you interested in group meetings, individual calls, or both/any?

  individual call

• Do you have any preferences who you would like to talk with, or what problem areas you would like to talk about?

  no preference

• Are you comfortable with English, or would you prefer a meeting with interpretation?

  VERY COMFORTABLE

• What hours are you available at?

  3 hours

Nom d’utilisateur :

• Êtes-vous intéressé par des réunions de groupe, des appels individuels, ou les deux ?

  ...

• Avez-vous des préférences quant aux personnes avec lesquelles vous aimeriez parler, ou quant aux problèmes que vous aimeriez aborder ?

  ...

• Êtes-vous à l'aise en anglais ou préférez-vous un entretien avec un interprète ?

  ...

• Quelles sont vos heures de disponibilité ?

  ...