[Wikidata] Announcing the release of the Wikidata Query Service
The Discovery Department at the Wikimedia Foundation is pleased to announce the release of the Wikidata Query Service <https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Wikidata_query_service>! You can find the interface for the service at https://query.wikidata.org. The Wikidata Query Service is designed to let users run queries on the data contained in Wikidata. The service uses SPARQL <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SPARQL> as the query language. You can see some example queries in the user manual <https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Wikidata_query_service/User_Manual>. Right now, the service is still in beta. This means that our goal <https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Engineering/2015-16_Q2_Goals#Wikidata_Query_Service> is to monitor of the service usage and collect feedback about what people think should be next. To do that, we've created the Wikidata Query Service dashboard <https://searchdata.wmflabs.org/wdqs/> to track usage of the service, and we're in the process <https://phabricator.wikimedia.org/T111403> of setting up a feedback mechanism for users of the service. Once we've got monitored the usage of the service for a while and got user feedback, we'll decide on what's next for development of the service. If you have any feedback, suggestions, or comments, please do send an email to the Discovery Department's public mailing list, wikimedia-sea...@lists.wikimedia.org. Thanks, Dan -- Dan Garry Lead Product Manager, Discovery Wikimedia Foundation ___ Wikidata mailing list Wikidata@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikidata
Re: [Wikidata] Use-notes in item descriptions
Hey! Thanks for sending this. This issue has been noticed and discussed previously in T97566 <https://phabricator.wikimedia.org/T97566>. I'd encourage reading that task for a bit more background on the previous discussion. Wikidata descriptions are used outside Wikidata in a few different places to provide users with short, brief additional context, such as search interface in the Wikipedia apps and the mobile interface for Wikimedia projects, and such usage instructions are typically not helpful outside Wikidata. Q503 <https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q503> is my perennial example. :-) I believe some analysis was done in the past that determined that the number of items that this problem affects is relatively small, with only around 100 items being affected. That said, I think it's still a problem worth addressing. Thanks, Dan On 5 November 2015 at 01:51, James Heald wrote: > I have been wondering about the practice of putting use-notes in item > descriptions. > > For example, on Q6581097 (male) > https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6581097 > the (English) description reads: > "human who is male (use with Property:P21 sex or gender). For groups > of males use with subclass of (P279)." > > I have added some myself recently, working on items in the administrative > structure of the UK -- for example on Q23112 (Cambridgeshire) >https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q23112 > I have changed the description to now read >"ceremonial county of England (use Q21272276 for administrative > non-metropolitan county)" > > These "use-notes" are similar to the disambiguating hat-notes often found > at the top of articles on en-wiki and others; and just as those hat-notes > can be useful on wikis, so such use-notes can be very useful on Wikidata, > for example in the context of a search, or a drop-down menu. > > But... > > Given that the label field is also there to be presentable to end-users in > contexts outside Wikidata, (eg to augment searches on main wikis, or to > feed into the semantic web, to end up being used in who-knows-what > different ways), yet away from Wikidata a string like "Q21272276" will > typically have no meaning. Indeed there may not even be any distinct thing > corresponding to it. (Q21272276 has no separate en-wiki article, for > example). > > So I'm wondering whether these rather Wikidata-specific use notes do > really belong in the general description field ? > > Is there a case for moving them to a new separate use-note field created > for them? > > The software could be adjusted to include such a field in search results > and drop-downs and the item summary, but they would be a separate > data-entry field on the item page, and a separate triple for the SPARQL > service, leaving the description field clean of Wikidata-specific meaning, > better for third-party and downstream applications. > > Am I right to feel that the present situation of just chucking everything > into the description field doesn't seem quite right, and we ought to take a > step forward from it? > > -- James. > > ___ > Wikidata mailing list > Wikidata@lists.wikimedia.org > https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikidata > -- Dan Garry Lead Product Manager, Discovery Wikimedia Foundation ___ Wikidata mailing list Wikidata@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikidata
Re: [Wikidata] REST API for Wikidata
Hey Jeroen, An often-cited complaint to me about the Wikidata API is that it's obscure and hard to use. Simple things, like needing the QID of a page rather than being able to give it a URL of a page from a client wiki, can make a big difference to third parties that aren't super familiar with Wikidata. So, this looks really cool! Thanks for working on it. :-) Dan On 30 November 2015 at 05:55, Jeroen De Dauw wrote: > Hey all, > > I've created a very rough REST API for Wikidata and am looking for your > feedback. > > * About this API: http://queryr.wmflabs.org > * Documentation: http://queryr.wmflabs.org/about/docs > * API root: http://queryr.wmflabs.org/api > > At present this is purely a demo. The data it serves is stale and > potentially incomplete, the endpoints and formats they use are very much > liable to change, the server setup is not reliable and I'm not 100% sure > I'll continue with this little project. > > The main thing I'm going for with this API compared to the existing one is > greater ease of use for common use cases. Several factors make this a lot > easier to do in a new API than in the existing one: no need the serve all > use cases, no need to retain compatibility with existing users and no > framework imposed restrictions. You can read more about the difference on > the website. > > You are invited to comment on the concept and on the open questions > mentioned on the website. > > Cheers > > -- > Jeroen De Dauw - http://www.bn2vs.com > Software craftsmanship advocate > ~=[,,_,,]:3 > > _______ > Wikidata mailing list > Wikidata@lists.wikimedia.org > https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikidata > > -- Dan Garry Lead Product Manager, Discovery Wikimedia Foundation ___ Wikidata mailing list Wikidata@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikidata
Re: [Wikidata] REST API for Wikidata
On 2 December 2015 at 13:55, S Page wrote: > > You can use the URL of a page on a client wiki with action=wbgetentities. > That's true, and obvious to us, but often represents a barrier to third party users. From the technical side, there's also the performance implications of having chains of separate, dependent API requests on clients. Little things like this can make a difference. :-) Thanks, Dan -- Dan Garry Lead Product Manager, Discovery Wikimedia Foundation ___ Wikidata mailing list Wikidata@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikidata
Re: [Wikidata] item / claim usage tracking
On 26 April 2016 at 08:41, Benjamin Good wrote: > Perhaps you could use the query log (just the list of SPARQL queries) and > utilize an offline installation of the query service to execute them and > generate aggregate statistics? > As a rule of thumb, if you think you've found a convenient way around needing an NDA... you probably haven't. ;-) The log of the list of queries would also be covered under the privacy policy. The log contains arbitrary, free-form user input and therefore is treated as containing personally identifying information until proven otherwise. You're correct that aggregates (like the ones that you're after) are generally fine to release publicly, but the person creating those aggregates would still need an NDA. I'm sorry for the inconvenience. The Wikimedia Foundation tries its hardest to safeguard user data, which can sometimes complicate processes like this as they're designed for maximal user safety and privacy rather than convenience. Hope that helps, Dan -- Dan Garry Lead Product Manager, Discovery Wikimedia Foundation ___ Wikidata mailing list Wikidata@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikidata
Re: [Wikidata] item / claim usage tracking
On 26 April 2016 at 10:57, Benjamin Good wrote: > If a group (lets say either mine or Lydia's team) was interested in doing > what I propose, could we request and sign such an NDA? This doesn't seem > insurmountable right ? > Absolutely doable, yes! I don't know what the actual process for that is though. According to the documentation I've found, the person for you to contact to arrange that would be Manprit Brar <https://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/User:MBrar_(WMF)>, a Legal Counsel at the Foundation. Hope that helps! Dan -- Dan Garry Lead Product Manager, Discovery Wikimedia Foundation ___ Wikidata mailing list Wikidata@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikidata
Re: [Wikidata] item / claim usage tracking
On 26 April 2016 at 11:09, Tom Morris wrote: > > I understood Ben's "you" in the snippet that you quoted to refer to the > Wikidata team. Does their Wikimedia employment contract not include the > necessary non-disclosure provisions? > I don't know. I'm not a contracts expert, nor have I seen the text of the agreement between WMDE and WMF. However, I do know that several staff at WMDE have signed nondisclosure agreements and have access to private data like server logs for purposes such as this, as I've been asked to vouch for those requests in the past. :-) Dan -- Dan Garry Lead Product Manager, Discovery Wikimedia Foundation ___ Wikidata mailing list Wikidata@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikidata
Re: [Wikidata] Render sparql queries using the Histropedia timeline engine
Neat! It's always exciting to see awesome things like this built on top of the Wikidata Query Service. One small piece of feedback: the timelines look quite blurry <https://i.imgur.com/k56aeFD.png> on my computer. Should I file this as a bug report somewhere? :-) Thanks, and keep up the great work! Dan On 10 August 2016 at 12:49, Navino Evans wrote: > Hi all, > > > > At long last, we’re delighted to announce you can now render sparql > queries using the Histropedia timeline engine \o/ > > > Histropedia WikidataQuery Viewer > <http://histropedia.com/showcase/wikidata-viewer.html> > > > > Unlike the main Histropedia site this tool renders timelines with data > directly from live Wikidata queries. It lets you map query variables to > values used to render the timeline. A few notable extra features compared > with the built in timeline view on the Wikidata query service: > > *Precision* - You can render each event according to the precision of the > date (as long as you add date precision to your query). It will default to > day precision if you leave this out. > > *Rank *– The events on the timeline have a rank defined by the order of > your sparql query results. You can also choose a query variable to use for > rank, but it’s not really needed if you use ORDER BY in your query to > control the order of results. Higher ranked events are placed more > prominently on the timeline. > > *URL* – You can choose whichever URL you like from your query results, > which will be opened in a new tab when you double click on an event on the > timeline. > > *Automatic colour code / filter* – You can choose any variable in your > sparql query to use for colour coding and filtering. From what I could tell > from the preview, this seems to be the same as the new map layers feature > that is close to launch on the Wikidata Query service (which looks awesome > by the way!) > > Also similar to the ‘group by property’ feature on Magnus’ Listeria tool, > but using an arbitrary variable from the sparql results instead of a > Wikidata property. > > > *Some cool examples:* > > Note: click on the droplet icon (top right) to see the colour code key and > filter options > > >- Discoveries about planetary systems, colour coded by type of object ><http://tinyurl.com/zlqupz9> (only items with an image and discoverer) >- Who's birthday is today? colour coded by country of citizenship ><http://tinyurl.com/hla7nqb> >- Oil paintings at the Louvre, colour coded by creator ><http://tinyurl.com/zu7cygv> >- Descendants of Alfred the Great, colour coded by religion, in >Japanese <http://tinyurl.com/h75utbg> – Note: select ‘no value’ in the >filter panel for a fun edit list of people missing religion statement >:) > > More examples on a dropdown list from the query input page > <http://www.histropedia.com/showcase/wikidata-viewer.html> in the tool. > > > > > The tool has been created by myself and fellow Histropedia co-founder Sean > using our newly released JavaScript library. We are only just learning to > code, and it’s a very early stage app so please let me know if anything > breaks! > > > You can find more info on the JS library (called HistropediaJS) on this > announcement from the Histropedia mailing list > <https://groups.google.com/forum/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer#!topic/histropedia-i/5_9_nBqvMx0> > > > > > Cheers! > > > > Navino > > > ___ > Wikidata mailing list > Wikidata@lists.wikimedia.org > https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikidata > > -- Dan Garry Lead Product Manager, Discovery Wikimedia Foundation ___ Wikidata mailing list Wikidata@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikidata
Re: [Wikidata] Community Communication for Wikidata
Welcome, Léa. I'm looking forward to working with you! Dan On 10 August 2016 at 09:57, Léa Lacroix wrote: > Hello everybody, > > > I’m Léa, I’m working at Wikimedia Deutschland since today as community > communication manager for Wikidata :) > > We may already met on the Wikimedia projects with my personal account, > Auregann <https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Utilisatrice:Auregann>. I > contribute on French Wikipedia, where I used to participate in the > newcomers welcoming project, add a few pictures on Commons, and I’m an > active member of the local user group laNCO > <https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikip%C3%A9dia:Rencontres/Ouest/Non-Cabale_de_l%27Ouest>, > in which I organized a lots of community events, training sessions and GLAM > partnerships since 2011. > > I used to work in IT, web development, on a local open data program, then > I’ve been an IT trainer in libraries for three years. > > I started my position at WMDE to support Lydia on the community > communication on Wikidata, and some projects of improving the Wikimedia > projects with Wikidata data : I will also support all the structured data > efforts for Wikipedia, Commons, Wiktionnary… I’m here to discuss with > volunteers who edit the projects, welcome your ideas and suggestions, help > to find solutions to your problems and make sure that we can work together > to improve our projects and keep editing our favorite knowledge base in a > nice atmosphere :) > > I will begin by discovering the working processes on Wikidata, chatting > with you and helping Lydia to answer to the technical questions > <https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Wikidata:Contact_the_development_team>. > I’ll also work on upcoming topics such as reviewing our communication > tools, getting the improved showcase items selection process going, and > organizing something cool for Wikidata’s 4th anniversary :) > > If you have any question, suggestion or idea, my talk page > <https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/User:Lea_Lacroix_(WMDE)> is wide open and > I will answer you as soon as I can. If you think that my advice could be > useful or if you want to inform me about a discussion happening somewhere, > feel free to ping me. You can also send me an e-mail or reach me on IRC > (Lea_Auregann_WMDE). > > I’m very happy to join the team and look forward to working with you on > all your projects! > > Bests, Léa > > _______ > Wikidata mailing list > Wikidata@lists.wikimedia.org > https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikidata > > -- Dan Garry Lead Product Manager, Discovery Wikimedia Foundation ___ Wikidata mailing list Wikidata@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikidata
Re: [Wikidata] Wikimedia Foundation directly funding Wikidata
Very glad to see this finally happen. Congratulations to all involved. :-) Dan On 5 October 2016 at 01:04, Léa Lacroix wrote: > Hello folks, > > An information that you could find useful : since the beginning of > Wikidata, the project and the development team (led by Wikimedia Germany) > were funded by the Wikimedia Foundation, through the Funds Dissemination > Committee, and by third parties. From now, the Wikimedia Foundation will > directly fund expenses for Wikidata software development. The two > organizations signed an agreement to have direct funding at least for the > next 3 years. This is good news, showing the strong support of our project > by the Foundation and will allow us more stability in the future. > > You can read the full blog post here: https://blog.wikimedia.org/ > 2016/10/04/supporting-the-future-of-wikidata/ > > Thanks for making Wikidata more and more awesome every day :) > > -- > Léa Lacroix > Community Communication Manager for Wikidata > > Wikimedia Deutschland e.V. > Tempelhofer Ufer 23-24 > 10963 Berlin > www.wikimedia.de > > Wikimedia Deutschland - Gesellschaft zur Förderung Freien Wissens e. V. > > Eingetragen im Vereinsregister des Amtsgerichts Berlin-Charlottenburg > unter der Nummer 23855 Nz. Als gemeinnützig anerkannt durch das Finanzamt > für Körperschaften I Berlin, Steuernummer 27/029/42207. > > ___ > Wikidata mailing list > Wikidata@lists.wikimedia.org > https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikidata > > -- Dan Garry Lead Product Manager, Discovery Wikimedia Foundation ___ Wikidata mailing list Wikidata@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikidata
[Wikidata] Upgrading WDQS hardware
Hi all, In order to support the continued growth and use of the Wikidata Query Service, Discovery <https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Discovery> and Technical Operations <https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Technical_Operations> are upgrading the hardware of the service. We're adding a single extra server to both our Virginia (eqiad <https://wikitech.wikimedia.org/wiki/Eqiad_cluster>) and Dallas (codfw <https://wikitech.wikimedia.org/wiki/Codfw_cluster>) data centres. These servers will be dedicated to the Wikidata Query Service. We're expecting this upgrade to take a few months, and we'll keep you updated as things progress. Thanks, Dan -- Dan Garry Lead Product Manager, Discovery Wikimedia Foundation ___ Wikidata mailing list Wikidata@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikidata
