Dear all, Please find the links for the registration for the community calls:
16th July, 11 am UTC Event:Community consulation on Wikispore/Wikinews, call 1 - Meta <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Event:Community_consulation_on_Wikispore/Wikinews,_call_1> 17th July, 16 pm UTC Event:Community consulation on Wikispore/Wikinews, call 2 - Meta <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Event:Community_consulation_on_Wikispore/Wikinews,_call_2> I'm looking forward to seeing you there. On Fri, Jun 27, 2025 at 9:08 AM Victoria Doronina <[email protected]> wrote: > Dear Wikimedia Community, > > The Community Affairs Committee (CAC) [1] of the Wikimedia Foundation > Board of Trustees assigned the Sister Projects Task Force (SPTF)[2] to > update and implement a procedure for assessing the lifecycle of Sister > Projects — wiki projects supported by Wikimedia Foundation (WMF)[3]. > > A vision of relevant, accessible, and impactful free knowledge has always > guided the Wikimedia Movement. As the ecosystem of Wikimedia projects > continues to evolve, it is crucial that we periodically review existing > projects to ensure they still align with our goals and community capacity. > > Despite their noble intent, some projects may no longer effectively serve > their original purpose. Reviewing such projects is not about giving > up—it’s about responsible stewardship of shared resources. Volunteer > time, staff support, infrastructure, and community attention are finite, > and the non-technical costs tend to grow significantly as our ecosystem has > entered a different age of the internet than the one we were founded in. > Supporting inactive projects or projects that didn’t meet our ambitions can > unintentionally divert these resources from areas with more potential > impact. > > Moreover, maintaining projects that no longer reflect the quality and > reliability of the Wikimedia name stands for, involves a reputational risk. > An abandoned or less reliable project affects trust in the Wikimedia > movement. > > Lastly, failing to sunset or reimagine projects that are no longer > working can make it much harder to start new ones. When the community > feels bound to every past decision—no matter how outdated—we risk > stagnation. A healthy ecosystem must allow for evolution, adaptation, and, > when necessary, letting go. If we create the expectation that every project > must exist indefinitely, we limit our ability to experiment and innovate. > > Because of this, SPTF reviewed two requests concerning the lifecycle of > the Sister Projects to work through and demonstrate the review process. We > chose Wikispore as a case study for a possible new Sister Project opening > and Wikinews as a case study for a review of an existing project. > Preliminary findings were discussed with the CAC, and a community > consultation on both proposals was recommended. > == Wikispore == > > The application to consider Wikispore as a new Sister Project was > submitted in 2019 [4]. SPTF decided to review this request in more depth > because, rather than being concentrated on a specific topic, as most of the > proposals for the new Sister Projects are, Wikispore has the potential to > nurture multiple start-up Sister Projects. > > After careful consideration [5], the SPTF has decided not to recommend > Wikispore as a Wikimedia Sister Project. Considering the current activity > level, the current arrangement allows better flexibility and > experimentation while WMF provides core infrastructural support. > > We acknowledge the initiative's potential and seek community input on what > would constitute a sufficient level of activity and engagement to > reconsider its status in the future. > > As part of the process, we shared the decision with the Wikispore > community and invited one of its leaders, Pharos, to an SPTF meeting. > > Currently, we especially invite feedback on measurable criteria indicating > the project's readiness, such as contributor numbers, content volume, and > sustained community support. This would clarify the criteria sufficient for > opening a new Sister Project, including possible future Wikispore > re-application. However, the numbers will always be a guide because any > number can be gamed. > > https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Public_consultation_about_Wikispore > == Wikinews == > > We chose to review Wikinews among existing Sister Projects because it is > the one for which we have observed the highest level of concern in multiple > ways. > > Since the SPTF was convened in 2023, its members have asked for the > community's opinions during conferences and community calls about Sister > Projects that did not fulfil their promise in the Wikimedia movement [7, 8, > 9]. Wikinews was the leading candidate for an evaluation because people > from multiple language communities proposed it. Additionally, by most > measures, it is the least active Sister Project, with the greatest drop > in activity over the years. > > While the Language Committee routinely opens and closes language versions > of the Sister Projects in small languages, there has never been a valid > proposal to close Wikipedia in major languages or any project in English. > This is not true for Wikinews, where there was a proposal to close English > Wikinews, which gained some traction but did not result in any action [6; > see also Section 5 from 9], as well as a draft proposal to close all > languages of Wikinews (see on the relevant meta discussion page). > > Initial metrics compiled by WMF staff also support the community's > concerns about Wikinews (see on the relevant meta discussion page). > > Based on this report, SPTF recommends a community reevaluation of > Wikinews. We conclude that its current structure and activity levels are > the lowest among the existing sister projects. SPTF also recommends pausing > the opening of new language editions while the consultation runs. > > SPTF brings this analysis to a discussion and welcomes discussions of > alternative outcomes, including potential restructuring efforts or > integration with other Wikimedia initiatives. > > Options mentioned so far (which might be applied to just low-activity > languages or all languages) include but are not limited to: > *Restructure how Wikinews works and is linked to other current events > efforts on the projects, > *Merge content of Wikinews into the relevant language Wikipedias, possibly > in a new namespace, > *Merge content into compartibly licensed external projects, > *Archive Wikinews projects. > > Your insights and perspectives are invaluable in shaping the future of > these projects. We encourage all interested community members to share > their thoughts on the relevant discussion pages or through other designated > feedback channels. > > Public consultation about Wikinews - Meta > <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Public_consultation_about_Wikinews> > == Feedback and next steps == > > We’d be grateful if you want to take part in a conversation on the future > of these projects and the review process. We are setting up two different > project pages: > https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Public_consultation_about_Wikispore and Public > consultation about Wikinews - Meta > <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Public_consultation_about_Wikinews>. > Please participate between 27/06/25 and 27/07/25, after which we will > summarize the discussion to move forward. You can write in your own > language. > > I will also host a community conversation 16th July Wednesday 11.00 UTC > and 17th July Thursday 17.00 UTC (I'll send the call links later) and will > be around at Wikimania for more discussions - unfortunately, SPTF > application for a workshop was rejected, but I'll try to set a meetup. > > Kind regards, > Victoria > > — > > 1) Wikimedia Foundation Community Affairs Committee - Meta > <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_Community_Affairs_Committee> > > 2) Wikimedia Foundation Community Affairs Committee/Sister Projects Task > Force - Meta > <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_Community_Affairs_Committee/Sister_Projects_Task_Force> > > 3) Wikimedia projects - Meta > <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_projects>4) Wikispore - Meta > <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikispore> > > 5) WikiSpore - Google Docs > <https://docs.google.com/document/d/1foUeLwY6Y7SSXchrbt9F4or6x-gP5Phcgwag87mtxqQ/edit?tab=t.0> > > 6) Proposals for closing projects/Closure of English Wikinews - Meta > <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Proposals_for_closing_projects/Closure_of_English_Wikinews> > > 7) > https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:WCNA_2024._Sister_Projects_-_opening%3F_closing%3F_merging%3F_splitting%3F.pdf > > > 8) > https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_Community_Affairs_Committee/Sister_Projects_Task_Force#Wikimania_2023_session_%22Sister_Projects:_past,_present_and_the_glorious_future%22 > > > 9) > https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/WikiConvention_francophone/2024/Programme/Quelle_proc%C3%A9dure_pour_ouvrir_ou_fermer_un_projet_%3F > > > 10) > https://docs.google.com/document/d/1yxf7dZOZDG5ZblADi3872UvnLQXd1fX63pGS354FxkU/edit?usp=sharing > > -- > Kind regards, Victoria > Victoria Doronina > <https://wikimediafoundation.org/profile/dr-victoria-doronina/> (she/her) > Trustee > Sister Projects Taskforce Lead > > Wikimedia Foundation <https://wikimediafoundation.org/> > > "Imagine a world in which every single human being can freely share in the > sum of all knowledge. Please help us make it a reality." > > >
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