[Wikimedia-l] Re: Reflecting on my listening tour

[Thomas Douillard]

Hello, I wish you the best in your journey. Just a reply to bounce on the
fact that the relationships can be tense between the communities and the
foundation, on the topic of technical evolutions and others. It’s true, but
what lacks in my opinion to this is a deeper analysis of the reasons why
relationship are tense. Some people are averse to change, for sure, for
good reason sometimes, it can be frustrating to see a technical evolution
that make the user experience worse because the little feature, just a
detail, that made your experience enjoyable is just gone and instead you
have to do tedious work, and bad reasons.

But this is just the tip of the iceberg and there are also deeper reasons,
political one. Some communities, and people in the community, have a strong
sense of sovereignty over the projects (I read "it’s our project") and see
change as untolerable interference into their sovereignty. Not everybody of
course. There are also, in the same spirit, situations in which there are
tensions between projects, that make collaboration not optimal. I think of
the introduction of Wikidata who was a tension, refused to be used by some
projects although it has a big potential in inter-project collaboration.
Part of the reasons are also a question of control, some projects have
developed ways to control the introduction and the quality of edits, and
saw Wikidata as a threat to that with unpar control. Projects with the
strongest intended control were probably the more reluctant, it can be
difficult to build consensus in a multiproject / multicultural environment.

There are also intra-community tensions, which in your statement seem to be
evoked, but just the tip, as the "women are discouraged to contribute"
item. There are also tensions of political nature over neutrality, (a deep
and strong commitment of the projects and contributor), project policies, …
Yes, it probably is not reasonable to leave every kind of conflict
resolution with the communities, but you must know it’s a complicated
topic, which could be a topic of controversy between the foundation and
communities. I’m sure you already know it but as you did there sometimes
phrasing the elephant in the room is a good thing.

There are big discussions on frwiki currently on frwiki about conflict
resolution and management,
https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Discussion_Wikip%C3%A9dia:Prise_de_d%C3%A9cision/Modalit%C3%A9s_de_gestion_des_conflits
and
https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Discussion_Wikip%C3%A9dia:Prise_de_d%C3%A9cision/Implication_et_conflits_d%27int%C3%A9r%C3%AAts_des_administrateurs
in which the non optimal conflict handling and deep old badly cured
conflicts seem to resurface. The Ucoc is a move in the handlings conflicts
but it entails its own round of potential tensions between communities and
the foundation , of course :) Such conflicts can be really energy draining
for contributors, and entail "contribution burnout" and lose of valuable
contributors, on all side.

TL;DR : the software evolution is a big thing, but community management is
also very important and conflict can be a slow poison. I don’t have a
silver bullet but I thought important to raise that point that seem a bit
less present in your statement.

Le ven. 14 avr. 2023 à 01:54, Selena Deckelmann 
a écrit :

> Hi everyone,
>
> I joined the Wikimedia Foundation on August 1 of last year in a newly
> created role as the Chief Product and Technology Officer (CPTO). (For the
> first few weeks, some of the staff called me C3PO as they got used to the
> new title :) The role was created to bring both the Product and Technology
> departments back under a single accountable leader for the first time since
> about 2015. Like Maryana
> ,
> I decided to spend the first few months of my time at Wikimedia listening
> and learning. Although I come from the open source technology field, and
> have worked with volunteers and communities in prior jobs, it felt
> important to start here with curiosity and openness about what’s working
> well and what needs to change.
>
> Since then, I have met one on one and in small groups with more than 360
> people, who spoke with me from 38 different countries. I also attended 22
> large and small convenings and events which included about 3,150 people.
> This includes members of the Foundation’s product and technology teams,
> other Foundation staff, editors, functionaries, affiliates, movement
> organizers and open internet partners. I tried to approach every
> conversation with curiosity, openness, and eagerness, letting go of any
> preconceptions I may have had (intentionally embracing beginner’s mind
> ) about the Foundation, the
> Wikimedia projects, and communities worldwide that contribute to creating
> and sharing free knowledge. I can confirm that I quickly found myself awash
> in details, experiencing 

[Wikimedia-l] Re: Deror Lin passed away

[Sandra Rientjes - Wikimedia Nederland]

What terribly sad news this is.  My condolences to his family and friends,
and to all who will miss his presence. A great loss.

Sandra Rientjes
Directeur/Executive Director Wikimedia Nederland

tel. (+31) (0)6  31786379

*Overtuigd van het belang van vrije kennis? *

*Steun Wikimedia Nederland! *







www.wikimedia.nl

Mariaplaats 3
3511 LH  Utrecht


Op za 6 mei 2023 om 12:59 schreef itzik Edri :

> Dear friends,
>
> I'm sorry to update that our friend and colleague Deror Lin
> (user:Deror_Avi) passed away this morning.
>
> Deror was a truly Wikimedian in blood who poured his heart and soul into
> the movement in many ways, even in his final days. He joined Wikipedia in
> 2004 and was one of the founders of Wikimedia Israel. For over 16 years, he
> served as an active board member.
>
> He was the driving force behind Wikimania 2011 in Haifa and a key member
> of the Wikimania committee ever since. He led countless programs and
> projects, both locally and internationally, including conferences, WLM
> competitions, educational programs, photo and editing contests, and many
> others.
>
> More than that, he wrote over 8,600 articles on HEWP (comprising more than
> 2% of it!), making him the number one article writer in HEWP, alongside
> more than 37,000 contributions to Commons.
>
> For his huge contribution and love for the movement, he was honored last
> year as the Wikipedia Laureate of 2022.
>
> Deror, you were not just a colleague but a true friend. We worked together
> on many projects, events, and initiatives over the years. No matter the
> situation, you always had a smile and shining eyes with your love for
> Wikipedia.
>
> *On behalf of Wikimedia Israel, I extend our deepest condolences to
> Deror's family and friends. You will always be remembered, Deror.*
> *ברוך דיין האמת. Baruch dayan ha-emet*
>
>
> Itzik.
> ___
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