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Training on using the Wiki Applications

I've just re-donated to support Wikipedia for another year. But, I think I only scratch the surface of using it and the other related Wiki offerings. How can I get training (e.g. videos) on how to use all of the offerings? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 82.132.217.186 (talk) 14:38, 22 September 2022‎

Voting now open on the revised Enforcement Guidelines for the Universal Code of Conduct

Hello all,

The voting period for the revised Universal Code of Conduct Enforcement Guidelines is now open! Voting will be open for two weeks and will close at 23:59 UTC on January 31, 2023. Please visit the voter information page on Meta-wiki for voter eligibility information and details on how to vote.

For more details on the Enforcement Guidelines and the voting process, see our previous message.

On behalf of the UCoC Project Team,

JPBeland-WMF (talk) 00:16, 18 January 2023 (UTC)

The voting period for the revised Universal Code of Conduct Enforcement Guidelines is still open. If you would like to learn more about them, there is a Diff blog post you can read.

On behalf of the UCoC Project Team,

JPBeland-WMF (talk) 20:49, 24 January 2023 (UTC)

Help with old dumps

Hi! I have been working a research project that involves me downloading the latest dump every month from several projects — enwiktionary, eswiktionary, frwiktionary, dewiktionary, enwikiquote, eswikiquote, frwikiquote, dewikiquote, enwikibooks, eswikibooks, frwikibooks, and dewikibooks. I have been working on this for about two years, but I have been busy for a few months and didn’t have the time to download them immediately, but I thought that I could just download them later.

Today, I was finally ready to download them, when I noticed that the dumps from June and July are missing. I have looked all around the internet, but I have not found a solution.

Can any of you help? The last available username (talk) 19:42, 20 January 2023 (UTC)

@The last available username try archive.org? For example https://web.archive.org/web/20220801023527/https://dumps.wikimedia.org/enwiktionary/20220720/ ? — xaosflux ^Talk 12:16, 21 January 2023 (UTC)

@Xaosflux Thanks very much! This helps me a lot and is even on the day I was looking for, but this unfortunately doesn't work for the other projects. The last available username (talk) 15:52, 21 January 2023 (UTC)

@The last available username try the mirror at your.org, just change the name in the url, example: https://dumps.wikimedia.your.org/frwikibooks — xaosflux ^Talk 16:11, 21 January 2023 (UTC)

@Xaosflux Thanks so much!!! You saved me! How do you find that and what is your.org? The last available username (talk) 16:15, 21 January 2023 (UTC)

@The last available username there is a list of some known mirrors at Mirroring Wikimedia project XML dumps. — xaosflux ^Talk 16:58, 21 January 2023 (UTC)

talk:Deletionism and other related talk pages

Most of the discussion on these talk pages seem to just be FORUMy comments and complaints and nothing about improving the page (besides people who think they're on Wikipedia). Virtually nothing productive has happened on these talk pages, and I don't see much maintenance or moderation on these pages. Should we do something about the junk on these talk pages? 137a (talk) 15:23, 24 January 2023 (UTC)

Voting closes soon on the revised Enforcement Guidelines for the Universal Code of Conduct

Hello all,

Voting closes on the revised Universal Code of Conduct Enforcement Guidelines in three days at 23.59 UTC on January 31, 2023. Please visit the voter information page on Meta-wiki for voter eligibility information and details on how to vote. More information on the Enforcement Guidelines and the voting process is available in this previous message.

Vote here

On behalf of the UCoC Project Team,

JPBeland-WMF (talk) 21:34, 27 January 2023 (UTC)

Suspicious user contributing to several small wikis

春去無蹤 ( local | logs | global )

this user contributed large volumes of texts to a large number of pages in Zhuang languages, Uyghur language, Tibetic language, Hakka language, Eastern Min, Gan language...

frankly, i dont think a person fluent in all these distant languages exist, so this looks like Scots_Wikipedia#Controversy.

also, i cant find a page for reporting this kind of suspicious activity. RZuo (talk) 09:59, 30 January 2023 (UTC)

Chatbots have hit critical mass and are creating copyright issues

No longer just for conversation...

Chatbots can now write content amazingly well, in a striking variety of formats and styles, following even complex instructions from users...

...but who owns the copyrights to what they write?

And can the generated content legally be placed under open license by users?

ChatGPT has gone viral, is taking the Web by storm, and is dominating tech news. What ChatGPT can do is mind blowing. The output from chatbots like ChatGPT have already started showing up on English Wikipedia. See w:Talk:Artwork title#Use of ChatGPT and w:Wikipedia:Village pump (policy)#More detected AI-generated papers.

The English Wikipedia is currently in a vigorous debate on what to do about chatbots (also known as large language models, or LLMs) including a lengthy debate about copyrights at w:Wikipedia:Village pump (policy)#Copyright status. There is also a policy draft being developed called w:Wikipedia:Large language models, with copyrights being discussed on its talk page.

As chatbot use is spreading like wildfire, and their output will be showing up on a wide range of Wikimedia projects, this is something you should become familiar with. The Transhumanist (talk) 12:21, 30 January 2023 (UTC)

P.S.: Chatbots can also be used for vandalism, hoaxes, pushing POVs, and generating misinformation on a scale hitherto undreamt of. And they have the bizarre tendency to make things up, including source references. We are going to need automated identification tools, and fast. The Transhumanist (talk) 12:32, 30 January 2023 (UTC)

Last call to vote on revised UCoC enforcement guidelines!

Hi all,

A friendly and final reminder that the voting period for the revised Universal Code of Conduct Enforcement Guidelines closes tomorrow, Tuesday, 31 January at 23:59:59 UTC.

The UCoC supports Wikimedia’s equity objectives and commitment to ensuring a welcoming, diverse movement, and it applies to all members of our communities. Voting is an opportunity for you to be a part of deciding how we uphold this commitment to our community and each other!

To vote, visit the voter information page on Meta-wiki, which outlines how to participate using SecurePoll.

Many thanks for your interest and participation in the UCoC!

On behalf of the UCoC Project Team,

JPBeland-WMF (talk) 21:22, 30 January 2023 (UTC)

Hello all,

The vote on the Universal Code of Conduct Enforcement Guidelines is now closed. The results will now be counted and scrutinized to ensure that only eligible votes are included. Results will be published on Meta and other movement forums as soon as they become available, as well as information on future steps. Thank you to all who participated in the voting process, and who have contributed to the drafting of Guidelines.

On behalf of the UCoC Project Team,

JPBeland-WMF (talk) 21:46, 1 February 2023 (UTC)

@JPBeland-WMF: Please, You archive the old votes on the actual page Universal Code of Conduct/Enforcement guidelines/Voting/Results. Dušan Kreheľ (talk) 12:16, 4 February 2023 (UTC)

How can I help?

Thanks for the help on this! Are there any way(s) I can help this wiki? The last available username (talk) 14:50, 3 February 2023 (UTC)

Wikipedia and censorship/repression in Saudi Arabi

In relation to this, I would like to know if it is possible to put, on the front pages of the various wikipedias, some message of support for our Saudi comrades, which could be something like this:

Freedom for User:OsamaK (left) y User:Ziad (right)

It is an issue that has already been discussed here. I think it is a debt we owe them and we should do something for them. Thank you for your attention and best regards. J. Manolo G. P. (talk) 10:07, 4 February 2023 (UTC)

Help

I was blocked at sr.wiki. Where can I explain my case, I have no trust in local admins KrleNS (talk) 23:03, 6 February 2023 (UTC)

@KrleNS: we here at the Meta-Wiki can't do anything directly about your block on srwiki. Please review their blocking information here: w:sr:Википедија:Правила блокирања. After that it appears you may place this template:w:sr:Шаблон:Деблокирање on your user talk page there to request an unblock review. — xaosflux ^Talk 23:50, 6 February 2023 (UTC)

I would gladly do that, but it won't help. --KrleNS (talk) 23:51, 6 February 2023 (UTC)

@KrleNS I'm sorry for your frustration, however the meta-wiki functionaries can't step in and do things about decisions like this made on local projects that have functioning communities. That project appear to be active, with active editors/admins/bureaucrats. As such, decisions about who may be blocked is up to them. Block appeal is some local information that may also help you. In checking, it appears that your block expires in 3 days there - I suggest just taking a break and returning after. — xaosflux ^Talk 00:20, 7 February 2023 (UTC)

Sr.wiki has serious flaws. I don't mean it is biased (more than any other), I would like to addressed overall quality, e.g. bad translations, double standards... So bad that would embarrass whole idea. I and get blocked for raising that issue, and those who make 'are trustworthy, e.g. An admin (!) translated (via Google translate or he simply lacks proficiency in English). An example. He translated and artilce on w:Jaipur#Demographics. Sentence in question is the child sex ratio was recorded 854. He translated it as "дечији w:sr:полни однос је 854."[1] (Child sex intercourse is 854). An editor that has checkuser rights (!) regularly writes articles with machine translated text to win in contests organized by sr.wiki community. --KrleNS (talk) 00:43, 7 February 2023 (UTC)

Wikimedia Enterprise financial report and product update

Dear all,
Following the initial announcement and project launch in 2021, and press release about first customers in 2022, the Wikimedia Enterprise team has today published the first financial report and a summary of a forthcoming product update.

This has been published today on the Diff blog, here:

https://diff.wikimedia.org/2023/02/07/wikimedia-enterprise-financial-report-product-update/
[also available in German]

One of the principles of the Wikimedia Enterprise project has been “the publication of overall revenue and expenses, differentiated from those of the Wikimedia Foundation in general, at least annually”. We are therefore proud to present the inaugural edition of the Wikimedia Enterprise financial report – covering the calendar-year 2022, its first year of operations.

The update also includes a description of some of the API features that have been under development. While the primary use-case is companies which consistently require very high-speed updates of very large amounts of Wikimedia content, it is important to note that there are several free-access methods.

If you have written questions or comments about the update, please share them on the project’s talkpage on Meta. As described in the blogpost, we consider this report covering the 2022 calendar year to be a “beta” version. We are actively seeking feedback about how its structure, content, and explanations can be improved for the next edition in late 2023, which will cover the 2022-23 fiscal year.

If you prefer real-time conversation: A public meeting will be hosted by the Enterprise team this Friday, February 10 @1900 UTC to discuss this announcement - details on the project homepage.

If you have any other questions please consult the FAQ.

Sincerely, LWyatt (WMF) (talk) 14:29, 7 February 2023 (UTC)

First steps in building the WMF Product & Technology annual plan

The Wikimedia Foundation’s Product and Technology Departments have published a first overview for the forthcoming annual plan (the fiscal year 2023/2024): Wikimedia Foundation Annual Plan/2023-2024/Draft/Product & Technology. The plan is still at the very high level and is a work in progress. The document describes the draft work portfolios (nominally called "buckets") and some potential objectives for them. If you have thoughts or questions at this early stage, please comment on the talk page so that we can keep discussions in one place. If you prefer to wait until things become clearer - this is perfectly fine too! A call for feedback on the specifics of the annual plan is planned for later in the process - this is just a start. LWyatt (WMF) (talk) 09:17, 10 February 2023 (UTC)

Official WMF staff affiliation and signature disambiguation

In accordance with en-Wikipedia "username policy", the (WMF) parenthetical is the only disambiguation qualifier mentioned as being in use to identify the official nature and affiliation of an account and the WMF staff member responsible for its operation. Until this day, it has sufficiently met my associated needs and expectations. Today, however, I have encountered several accounts using a -WMF qualifier that are clearly official accounts yet the nuanced intent of their differentiation is not obvious (to me) and can not be, otherwise, discerned through policy awareness. I am, therefore, prompted to ask:

1.) What is the intended difference between the two disambiguation qualifiers mentioned herein? 2.) Are any other official qualifiers currently in use? If so, what are they and what does their usage infer?

The answers given here may end up being used to update information where needed, so please: be accurate with answers given, provide hyperlinks to verification if known, and edit from an official account if possible. Thank you.--John Cline (talk) 09:18, 12 February 2023 (UTC)

John Cline, I believe the change was because of the problems encountered in rendering (WMF) in RTL writing systems. The only difference between the two styles is whether the account was created before or after the switch from (WMF) style to -WMF. Cabayi (talk) 10:15, 12 February 2023 (UTC)

@John Cline: as Cabayi notes above, this difference is solely down to addressing some RTL-rendering issues. As to your second question, I am aware of some affiliates who will append affiliations to 'official accounts' (WMDE being the most prominent example). Hope that helps — TheresNoTime-WMF (talk • they/them) 18:19, 12 February 2023 (UTC)

@John Cline, it's been an option for more than a decade; see User:Aaharoni-WMF. The parenthetical version has been preferred in the past, but the hyphenated version was available upon request by anyone who expected to be posted at RTL wikis. Now the hyphenated version is preferred.

I believe that non-admins can't register an account that contains the string "WMF" anywhere in the username (e.g., User:WmFaulkner, User:MatthewMFranklin). As a result, if you see "WMF" anywhere in the username, it's at least very likely that it's the staff account for someone at the WMF. Whatamidoing (WMF) (talk) 20:40, 13 February 2023 (UTC)

Announcing the 2023 Ombuds Commission

Hello, everyone.

I'm writing with information about the Ombuds Commission (OC), the small group of volunteers who investigate complaints about violations of the privacy policy, and in particular concerning the use of CheckUser and Oversight tools, on any Wikimedia project for the Board of Trustees. I apologize for the length of the announcement. :)

The application period for new commissioners for 2023 recently closed. The Wikimedia Foundation is extremely grateful to the many experienced and insightful volunteers who offered to assist with this work.

This year’s OC will consist of ten members, with a one-member advisory team who will guide the new commission and also, if necessary, fill in in the event that the OC is unable to act due to incapacity or recusal.

I am pleased to announce the composition of the 2023 OC:

Regular members

• AGK

AGK has been editing Wikimedia projects since 2008. He is primarily active on English Wikipedia, where he has been an administrator, Checkuser, and Oversighter and has served as an Arbitrator. AGK served on the Ombuds Commission in 2020 and 2021. AGK has been appointed for a 2-year term on the Ombuds Commission.

• Ameisenigel

Ameisenigel has been editing Wikimedia projects since 2015. He is primarily active on German Wikipedia, where he served as an Arbitrator from 2020 to 2022, and on Wikidata, where he is an administrator. He is also active as a translation admin in several projects. Ameisenigel speaks German and English. He has been on the Ombuds Commission since 2021 and has been appointed for a 1-year term this year.

• Bennylin

Bennylin has been editing Wikimedia projects since 2004. He's primarily active on Indonesian and Javanese Wikiprojects, where he's sysop in 6 of them, Checkuser in Indonesian Wikipedia, bureaucrat in Indonesian Wiktionary, and also active in Commons, Meta, Wikidata, and MediaWiki. He has previously served as a global Steward. He speaks Indonesian, English, Javanese, Chinese and some Spanish. This is Bennylin's first year on the Ombuds Commission and he has been appointed for a 2-year term.

• Daniuu

Daniuu has been editing Wikimedia projects since 2019. They are primarily active on Dutch Wikipedia, where they are a sysop and member of the Arbitration Committee. They are also a global sysop and focus on counter-vandalism work. Daniuu speaks Dutch and English. This is Daniuu's first year on the Ombuds Commission and they have been appointed for a 2-year term.

• Emufarmers

Emufarmers has been editing Wikimedia projects since 2005. He is a Metapedian who primarily edits the English Wikipedia; he is also a bureaucrat and sysop on MediaWiki.org, and has provided software support to many third-party, non-Wikimedia wikis over the years. He has served as a VRTS administrator since 2015. He served on the Ombuds Commission from 2019-2021. He has been appointed for a one-year term on the Ombuds Commission.

• Faendalimas

Scott Thomson, user:Faendalimas, has been editing Wikimedia projects since 2006. Based in Brazil, he is a taxonomist and evolutionary biologist and his main editing interest is reptiles and amphibians. He is most active on WikiSpecies, where he is a bureaucrat, Checkuser, and administrator. Faendalimas speaks Portuguese and English. He has served on the Ombuds Commission since 2021 and has been appointed for a one-year term this year.

• JJMC89

JJMC89 has been contributing to Wikimedia projects since 2015. He is primarily active on the English Wikipedia, where he has more than 300,000 edits and is an administrator and bot operator, and Commons. He also serves as a tool administrator on UTRS. He speaks English. He has been on the Ombuds Commission since 2021 and has been appointed for a 1-year term this year.

• MdsShakil

MdsShakil has been contributing to Wikimedia projects since 2019. He is active on Bengali Wikipedia, Bengali Wikibooks, Wikidata and Commons. He is an administrator on Bengali Wikibooks and serves as a global renamer and global rollbacker. He speaks Bengali and English. This is MdsShakil's first year on the Ombuds Commission and he has been appointed for a 2-year term.

• Minorax

Minorax has been active on Wikimedia projects since 2019. They are a Metapedian who is active on a large number of projects, including Commons, where they have over 400,000 edits, English Wikipedia, and Meta, where they are a Checkuser. They are also a global sysop. Minorax speaks English and Chinese. This is Minorax's first year on the Ombuds Commission and they have been appointed for a 2-year term.

• Renvoy

Renvoy has been editing Wikimedia projects since 2014. He is primarily active on Ukrainian Wikipedia and Wikidata. He is an administrator on Ukrainian Wikibooks and serves as a global rollbacker. Renvoy speaks Ukrainian, Russian, English, and Polish. This is Renvoy's first year on the Ombuds Commission and he has been appointed for a 1-year term.

Advisory member

• Zabe

Zabe has been contributing to Wikimedia projects since 2018. They primarily edit Wikidata and Mediawiki, where they are an administrator. In addition, Zabe works on the Mediawiki software. Zabe speaks German and English. Zabe has been on the Ombuds Commission since 2022. The advisory member term length is one year.

Steward-Observer

New in 2023, we are appointing a Steward-Observer to serve as a liaison between the Ombuds Commission and the Stewards. The Steward-Observer is a non-voting, advisory role. The Steward-Observer was nominated by the Stewards and is appointed by the Wikimedia Foundation to a one-year term. This year's Steward-Observer is…

• Vermont

Vermont (they/them) has been contributing to Wikimedia projects since 2016. They have been a steward since February 2022, and previously a global sysop and rollbacker. Vermont is an administrator and checkuser on Meta-Wiki and the Simple English Wikipedia, and formerly volunteered on the UCoC Phase 2 and Revisions drafting committees.

Departing members

Please join me in thanking the following volunteers who are leaving OC, who have given substantially of their time to serve the commission:

• Érico

Érico has been editing Wikimedia projects since 2010. He edits primarily on Portuguese Wikipedia, where he is a bureaucrat, checkuser, and administrator, and Commons, where he is an administrator. He has, in the past, also served as an oversighter and a global sysop. He has created about 1,700 new articles and has made over 270,000 edits in several projects. Érico can communicate in Portuguese and English. 2022 was Érico's first year on the Ombuds Commission.

• Galahad

Carlos, currently editing as user:Galahad, has been contributing to Wikimedia Projects since 2009. He is a member of Wikimedia Venezuela and a founding member of Wikimedia Small Projects User Group. He primarily contributes to Spanish-language projects including Spanish Wikipedia and Spanish Wikivoyage. He has been an administrator and bureaucrat of Spanish Wikivoyage since 2013. He speaks Spanish and English. He has served on the Ombuds Commission since 2019.

• Infinite0694

Infinite0694 has been contributing to Wikimedia projects since 2011. She edits primarily on Japanese Wikipedia, where she is a bureaucrat, administrator, Oversighter, and Checkuser, as well as on Meta, where she is an administrator. Infinite0694 speaks Japanese, English, and German. 2022 was Infinite0694's first year on the Ombuds Commission.

• Mykola7

Mykola7 has been contributing to Wikimedia projects since 2018. He is primarily active on Ukranian Wikipedia, where he is an administrator and Checkuser. He speaks Ukranian, Russian, and English. 2022 was Mykola7's first year on the Ombuds Commission.

• Olugold

Olugold has been contributing to Wikimedia projects since 2020. She is a librarian and a member of the Igbo Wikimedia User Group. She edits primarily on English Wikipedia, Wikidata, and Igbo Wikipedia. She speaks English, Hausa, Igbo, and Nigerian Pidgin English. 2022 was Olugold's first year on the Ombuds Commission.

• Udehb

Udehb has been contributing to Wikimedia projects since 2018. He edits primarily on Wikidata and is also active in the movement, including organizing Wikidata Justice Nigeria. He is a member of the Igbo Wikimedians User Group and serves as the IG-WIKIDATA-HUB coordinator, of which he is the founder. Udehb speaks Igbo and English. 2022 was Udehb's first year on the Ombuds Commission. Kbrown (WMF) (talk) 14:53, 13 February 2023 (UTC)

Chronological list of editors who add their thanks to these departing members

• I fully endorse the parting salutations given by Kbrown (WMF) and add my own thanks and best wishes to each departing member.--John Cline (talk) 02:29, 14 February 2023 (UTC)

Universal Code of Conduct revised enforcement guidelines vote results

The recent community-wide vote on the Universal Code of Conduct revised Enforcement Guidelines has been tallied and scrutinized. Thank you to everyone who participated.

After 3097 voters from 146 Wikimedia communities voted, the results are 76% in support of the Enforcement Guidelines, and 24% in opposition. Statistics for the vote are available. A more detailed summary of comments submitted during the vote will be published soon.

From here, the results and comments collected during this vote will be submitted to the Board of Trustees for their review. The current expectation is that the Board of Trustees review process will complete in March 2023. We will update you when their review process is completed.

On behalf of the UCoC Project Team, JPBeland-WMF (talk) 19:29, 13 February 2023 (UTC)