Project talk:MediaWiki Farmers user group

Overlap
Is there an overlap between this and Groups/Proposals/MediaWiki Cooperation? --Nemo 11:56, 28 August 2014 (UTC)
 * A little bit yes. This group is more aimed at actually developing things, and specifically targeted towards wiki farms. Legoktm (talk) 01:03, 29 August 2014 (UTC)
 * This issue has also come up at Talk:Groups/Proposals/MediaWiki Cooperation. --Varnent (talk)(COI) 01:51, 28 October 2014 (UTC)

Application
Once the group is ready for AffCom to consider official recognition, please fill out an application on Meta. Please note that you are encouraged to proceed with your planning and activities during this process. --Varnent (talk)(COI) 01:51, 28 October 2014 (UTC)
 * I've started an application at Wikimedia user groups/Applications/MediaWiki Farmers user group. Some of the questions are a bit odd though, so I'm not sure how "correct" my answers are... Legoktm (talk) 08:41, 4 December 2014 (UTC)

Congratulations on user group approval
Congratulations on the approval of the MediaWiki Farmers User Group by the Affiliations Committee! Please contact us if you have any questions about next steps. You should be contacted by WMF Legal to sign the paperwork soon. Again, congratulations and best wishes! --Varnent (talk)(COI) 23:35, 17 January 2015 (UTC)

Group focus
The current intro reads "Our group will benefit MediaWiki farms by improving documentation of the Wikimedia setup, in order for other developers to replicate it locally, lowering the barrier for new developers to hack on MediaWiki and Wikimedia code." -- is it definitively chosen already that we are promoting the WMF farm setup as the way to go for other farms? In my opinion, this seems incredibly premature as the WMF setup may not be the best method to promote. We should ideally evaluate other setups to see which ones best meet the needs of wiki farms (and probably also decide on what said "needs" are) before settling on one setup to begin promoting. In the interim, we should likely replace that line with a statement of the group's end goals/deliverables (e.g. a standardized setup and whatever else we as a group want to immediately focus on). -- Skiz zerz  04:19, 4 February 2015 (UTC)

Knowledge structures on Wiki Farms
Greetings! I have a set of farms, and often run into issues when talking about just the approach for incoming folk in how to think about wikis, where to put things, how to find other pages. While there is plenty of technical documentation, I have yet to come across something which says "here's how to think about categories" or "be sure each page links to something findable" etc. Are there already guides like this, or shall I create one and link to it from this user group?

Nominations are being accepted for 2015 Wikimedia Foundation elections
''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

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== Requests for comments on Wikimedia user groups approval process and agreements ==



''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

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Wikimedia Foundation Funds Dissemination Committee elections 2015
''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

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Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees elections 2015
''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

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Introducing the Wikimedia Affiliates mailing list
''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

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Wikipedia 15 has a mark!
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Wikipedia 15 now has a mark! Be sure to check out the “Material” section of the Wikipedia 15 meta page to see the design, and learn about how to use it. This year's mark is meant to be fun, interactive, and infinitely customisable. We can’t wait to see how you and your Wikimedia community use it!

–For the WMF Communications team, Sam Lien and Joe Sutherland

Your input requested on the proposed #FreeBassel banner campaign
''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!

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2015 Affiliations Committee call for candidates
''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.

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.
 * Selection process

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.

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.
 * How to apply

Your application should include the following: Your statement will be published for community review and feedback, so please do not include any information that you are not comfortable sharing.
 * 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.

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

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Get involved in Wikipedia 15!
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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

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