Hi Kevin: Sorry if you are ill treated in Commons earlier. But hope you aware that there is lot of people in Commons still trying to renovate it by positive contributions, self criticisms and listening to outside opinions. And hope you aware that the last Board resolution is an answer to our requests. ( https://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Resolution:Media_about_living_people)
That said, Commons is a multi cultural project. So there is chance for friction between the English community in many areas. In my culture (I'm from India), it is common that pictures of brutal murders are published on newspaper front pages. I assume culture in other places may different. Anyway we are open for discussions and willing to make changes. I had alredy commented on the main page and opened a discussion on FPC talk since MOTD talk is not active. ( https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Commons_talk:Featured_picture_candidates#COM:MOTD) Every body is welcome to there. I agree the current handling of MOTD is not good considering the importance of the main page. My only complaint is trying to generalize this matter. The more you generalize matters, the more "some people who think Commons=them" make benefit it from. Sincerely expecting to your contributions and a warm welcome to the "New Commons". Regards, Jee On Tue, May 13, 2014 at 9:40 AM, Kevin Gorman <kgor...@gmail.com> wrote: > Hi Yann - > > Commons is unique in that AFAIK it's our only project that, by it's very > nature, effects other projects, as well as outside collaborations. As have > been brought up by Risker earlier in this conversation, Common's MOTD on > that day was transcluded to the mainpages of projects that do not use one > of the five languages in which context for the video was provided. > Combining that fact with the fact Commons' has a history of not wanting to > comply with WMF board resolutions and the fact that the last time I was > heavily active on Commons we stumbled across a page where a couple sysops > were chatting about whether or not they could indef me for being disruptive > (when I was, pretty literally, only trying to enforce WMF board > resolutions,) I view bringing it up at a wider venue as absolutely > appropriate, especially given that without this discussion, I'd bet that > Fuzheado's and Eddie's ignored comments would still be, well, ignored, > rather than there now being a rather active discussion on that page. > > Best, > Kevin Gorman > > > On Mon, May 12, 2014 at 1:38 PM, Yann Forget <yan...@gmail.com> wrote: > > > Hi, > > > > I am puzzled than you launch such a Wikimedia-wide protest about this, > > and that you are even not active on Commons. > > If there is something which you don't like, come to Commons and > > participate! > > Sending you opinion accross without doing anything won't help... > > > > Yann > > > > > > 2014-05-09 7:40 GMT+05:30 Kevin Gorman <kgor...@gmail.com>: > > > Hi all - > > > > > > This is a slightly unusual email for me, in that I'm wearing more hats > > than > > > I usually do. I'm writing as a community member, but also as someone > > > currently employed by one of the best public universities in the world > > in a > > > department that is, at least in decent part, aimed at ensuring that > > > injustices of the past do not go forgotten. This email represents my > own > > > opinions alone, mostly because I don't want to go through the process > of > > > getting approval for any sort of formal statement, and also don't view > > > doing so as necessary, but it does highlight my views as someone > actively > > > employed by a major university, and not just as an editor. > > > > > > Today, Common's front page highlighted a video taken shortly after the > > > liberation of Buchenwald, one of the largest concentration camps to > > operate > > > on German soil during the second world war, where more than 50,000 > people > > > lost their lives. (Since Commons apparently uses UTC, it's already > > changed > > > to a different piece of media.) For reasons that baffle me a bit, the > > > video screenshot displayed on Commons' frontpage is that of a stack of > > > corpses, taken from a five minute long video (that is primarily not > > stacks > > > of corpses.) To make things worse: because Commons only supports open > > > video formats, an overwhelming majority of people who look at the > Commons > > > frontpage in any one day are not using a browser that can view the > actual > > > video - so they would've only been able to see a photo of stacked up > > > corpses, with no accompanying video (and no accompanying explanation if > > > they didn't speak english or one of four other languages.) The caption > > of > > > the video does hyperlink to the English Wikipedia's article about > > > Buchenwald, but displays only after the graphic image and video link. > > > > > > I want to be clear: I'm not objecting in any way whatsoever to the fact > > > that the Wikimedia Commons contains a video of Buchenwald. I would be > > > disturbed if we /didn't/ have a video like this on Commons. It is of > > great > > > historical significance, and it's a video that absolutely needs to be > on > > > Commons. In fact, it's a video that I think should probably have > > appeared > > > on Commons frontpage sooner or later... just not like this. The same > > video > > > is played in multiple classes at UC Berkeley, after the context behind > > the > > > video is given and people are warned about the nature of what they're > > about > > > to see. Even in that setting, I've pretty regularly seen people burst > > into > > > tears upon watching the video that Commons links today. Such video > > > evidence of the atrocities committed by Hitler's regime plays an > > incredibly > > > important role in understanding the past, but what differentiates an > > effort > > > to understand the past and a shock site can pretty much be summed up as > > > contextualisation. A video with explanation of its context and some > > degree > > > of warning before a pile of corpses is displayed is a large part of the > > > difference between a shock site and documenting history. Common's > front > > > page today leans a lot more towards the "shock site" aspect than the > > > "documenting history" one. > > > > > > This isn't the first time that Commons frontpage has featured content > > that, > > > while often appropriate material to be hosted by Commons, has been > framed > > > in an inappropriate way likely to cause dismay, upset, or scandal to > the > > > average Wikimedia Commons viewer. It flies in the face of the > WMF-board > > > endorsed principle of least astonishment - [1] - no one expects to > click > > on > > > Commons homepage to see a still image of a stack of corpses at > > Buchenwald. > > > This is not the first time that Commons administrators and bureaucrats > > > have drastically abrogated the principle of least astonishment, and the > > > continued tendency of those in charge of Commons to ignore such a > > principle > > > makes me hesitate to recommend the Wikimedia Commons to my students or > my > > > colleagues. In fact - if there was an easy way to completely bypass > > > Commons - at this point I would suggest to my students and colleagues > > that > > > they do so. I don't want to (and given another option will not) > recommend > > > using Wikimedia Commons to professional edu or GLAM colleagues knowing > > that > > > when they show up at it's front page they may happen upon bad anime > porn > > or > > > a completely uncontextualised stack of corpses. I can think of > absolutely > > > no legitimate reason why anyone thought it was a good idea to > highlight a > > > video of Buchenwald on Common's main page by using a freezeframe of a > > stack > > > of corpses from a broader video. > > > > > > If we want to gain truly mainstream acceptance in the education and > GLAM > > > world (and thus greatly improve our acceptance among the general public > > as > > > a side effect,) Commons cannot keep doing stuff like this. I know that > > > project content decisions are normally left up to the individual > project, > > > but as Commons is a project that by its nature effects all other > > projects, > > > I don't think discussion of this issue should be limited to those who > > > frequent commons. Because of that, and because I'm not sure that > > meaningful > > > change cannot come from the current Commons administration without > > outside > > > pressure, I'm starting a discussion here. I will mention this > discussion > > > on Commons' mainpage talkpage, so that Commonites who desire to comment > > can > > > do so here. > > > > > > For those curious to see the media now that it's off the front page, > > here's > > > a snapshot of what was on Commons' frontpage for a day - warning, it > is, > > > well, corpses - > > > > > > https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Talk:Main_Page#mediaviewer/File:Snapshot_of_Buchenwald_video_as_MOTD_May_8%2C_2014.png > > > > > > Is there anyone who thinks that it doesn't violate the principle of > least > > > astonishment to open commons's frontpage and see a stack of corpses? > > > > > > Can anyone articulate a valid reason why the freezeframe from the video > > > posted on the frontpage was just about the most graphic still possible > > from > > > the video? > > > > > > ----- > > > Kevin Gorman > > > Wikipedian-in-Residence > > > American Cultures Program > > > UC Berkeley > > > > > > [1] > > https://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Resolution:Controversial_content > > > _______________________________________________ > > > Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: > > https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines > > > Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org > > > Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, > > <mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe> > > > > _______________________________________________ > > Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: > > https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines > > Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org > > Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, > > <mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe> > > > _______________________________________________ > Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: > https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines > Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org > Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, > <mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe> > _______________________________________________ Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, <mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe>
