Help - Search - Members - Calendar
Full Version: Wikimanians kicked out on the street
> Wikimedia Discussion > General Discussion
thekohser
Sage Ross writes of the recent Wikimania held in Gdansk, Poland:

QUOTE
...many attendees were unexpectedly kicked out of their dorms early, and I heard that a group of them ended up spending one night in a public park.


He also sagely observes:

QUOTE
It’s really a shame that Wikimania hasn’t been held in North America since Wikimania 2005 in Boston. That was before the real upswing of Wikipedia’s popularity, and the majority of active American and Canadian Wikimedians have never had a chance since they joined to attend a nearby Wikimania.


To which I replied...

QUOTE
Sage, I think one of the main reasons why there hasn’t been a North American Wikimania in so long is that the Foundation is deathly afraid that I’ll show up.
Moulton
I'd show up if it were in Boston.

Meanwhile, Greg, have a look at this:

Money, Politics, and Corruption in WMF Chapters.
thekohser
QUOTE(Moulton @ Wed 14th July 2010, 10:20am) *

I'd show up if it were in Boston.

Meanwhile, Greg, have a look at this:

Money, Politics, and Corruption in WMF Chapters.


Yes, I saw that! And I especially appreciated Thomas Dalton for so effectively summing up Wikipediot response technique when dealing with matters of corruption or failures in good governance:

QUOTE
I'm not convinced those problems exist, so I'm not convinced that the
costs (in terms of time, money, effort, etc.) of the solution you
propose are worth it. The first thing you need to do is establish that
the problem exists, which means presenting evidence. I understand your
desire not to reveal your sources, but that doesn't mean you can avoid
presenting evidence.


And, to close the loop, when I've presented evidence of corruption to the Foundation-l mailing list moderators, my submissions have been sat on for days at a time, then after multiple queries as to what's being done with them, I've been told that they are rejected by the moderators.
Moulton
Can we work up a song parody, "Corruption", based on "Tradition" from Fiddler on the Roof?
Cock-up-over-conspiracy
QUOTE(Moulton @ Wed 14th July 2010, 4:42pm) *
Can we work up a song parody, "Corruption", based on "Tradition" from Fiddler on the Roof?

No, but you can have ...
QUOTE
[EMCEE]
Foundations' Money makes the Wiki go around
The Wiki go around
The Wiki go around
Foundations' Money makes the Wiki go around
It makes the Wiki go 'round.

A mark, a yen, a buck, or a pound
A buck or a pound
A buck or a pound
Is all that makes the Wiki go around,
That clinking clanking sound
Can make the Wiki go 'round.

Money money money money money money
Money money money money money money
Money money money money money money
Money money

If you happen
To be rich,
And you feel like a
Night's entertainment,
You can play edit
Gay porn biography.

Money money
Money money
Money money
Money money

If you happen to
To be rich,
And alone, and you
Need to complain
You can ring-ting-
A-ling the Arbcom maids.

If you happen
To be Rachel
And you find you are
Dumped by your lover,
Though you moan
And you groan
Quite a lot,

Money money
Money money
Money money
Money money

You can take it
On the chin,
Call a cab,
And begin
To recover
On your sockpuppet
accounts.

Foundations' Money makes the Wiki go around,
The Wiki go around,
The Wiki go around,
Foundations' Money makes the Wiki go around,
Of that we can be sure.
(....) on being poor.

Money money money-
money money money
Money money money-
money money money
Money money money money money money
Money money money money money money
Money money money money money money


thekohser
Somebody call child protective services on Sage, quick!
Peter Damian
Speaking of Wikimania - forgive me if there is another thread on this - did anyone look at the program http://wikimania2010.wikimedia.org/wiki/Schedule ? I looked carefully through, and couldn't find any presentation dealing with problems in Wikipedia. Perhaps someone else could look?

[edit] Though there was this

http://wikimania2010.wikimedia.org/wiki/Su...al_Contributors


QUOTE
Why do editors leave Wikipedia? What can we do as a community to encourage promising newbies to stay? This presentation will review the findings of a survey of 1,200 casual contributors to the English Wikipedia who left during 2009. The survey was aimed at getting a better understanding of why editors leave Wikipedia and how factors such as community, complexity, and personal circumstances affect their decision to stay or leave.


What about encouraging promising oldies?

Plus this below, but I can only assume the contributor had been taking some kind of hallucinogenic drug, or maybe an opiate that induced spurious feelings of well-being. Or both.

QUOTE
Finally, the representation will conclude with demonstrating how an increasingly open, unrestrictive, and inclusive policies and structures, lead in my opinion to an increasingly growing and rich organism of the wiki, in terms of both content and process; and also of how democratic and deliberative social practices have so far led to a general success of Wikipedia in maintaining an overall healthy and nutritive elementary diet for itself as an organism, despite of the challenges which correspond to the 5 aspects mentioned above and other aspects as well.
http://wikimania2010.wikimedia.org/wiki/Su..._as_an_Organism
GlassBeadGame
QUOTE(Moulton @ Wed 14th July 2010, 8:20am) *

I'd show up if it were in Boston.

Meanwhile, Greg, have a look at this:

Money, Politics, and Corruption in WMF Chapters.



That is the most "fact free" allegation of corruption I've ever seen. Despite the assertion "WMF and chapters have enough money now to be attracted by careerists" chapters do not possess significant resources AFAIK. It doesn't help that the author gives no numbers. WMF chapters are basically fan clubs and while some chapter might pull a Selina they are otherwise of no account.
Somey
QUOTE(GlassBeadGame @ Wed 14th July 2010, 12:50pm) *
Despite the assertion "WMF and chapters have enough money now to be attracted by careerists" chapters do not possess significant resources AFAIK...

Is it possible that some of the covens fan clubs chapters are trying to obtain corporate donations directly, using WMF letterhead or something like that? Seems like that would be the most obvious thing for someone in one of those clubs to try, if they wanted to grab a significant amount of dosh.

I doubt they could do anything with registration fees for meetings, or T-shirt sales, but there are probably quite a few things they could do that I would never think of.
thekohser
QUOTE(Peter Damian @ Wed 14th July 2010, 1:44pm) *

...did anyone look at the program http://wikimania2010.wikimedia.org/wiki/Schedule ? I looked carefully through, and couldn't find any presentation dealing with problems in Wikipedia. Perhaps someone else could look?


Generally speaking, there are no problems in Wikipedia, Peter. Haven't you learned that yet?

The major problems having anything to do with Wikipedia were addressed by the Wikimania 2010 talks that focused on:
  • the problem of growing template complexity
  • the problem of lack of attention to and technical and conceptual flaws regarding inter-language links
You know, the important stuff.
GlassBeadGame
QUOTE(Somey @ Wed 14th July 2010, 12:04pm) *

QUOTE(GlassBeadGame @ Wed 14th July 2010, 12:50pm) *
Despite the assertion "WMF and chapters have enough money now to be attracted by careerists" chapters do not possess significant resources AFAIK...

Is it possible that some of the covens fan clubs chapters are trying to obtain corporate donations directly, using WMF letterhead or something like that? Seems like that would be the most obvious thing for someone in one of those clubs to try, if they wanted to grab a significant amount of dosh.

I doubt they could do anything with registration fees for meetings, or T-shirt sales, but there are probably quite a few things they could do that I would never think of.


Maybe scam the Geek Scout Cookie funds?
This is a "lo-fi" version of our main content. To view the full version with more information, formatting and images, please click here.