> Wikimedia Foundation Launches Wikipedia Public Policy Initiative

Moulton

Wikimedia Foundation Launches Wikipedia Public Policy Initiative

Weekly News Digest from Information Today, May 13, 2010

QUOTE

The Wikimedia Foundation, the non-profit organization behind Wikipedia, announced a new project designed to improve the quality of public policy-related articles on Wikipedia. It is the first time the Wikimedia Foundation has launched a project designed to systematically increase the quality of articles in a particular topic area.

The project will be funded via a $1.2 million grant from the U.S.-based Stanton Foundation, a long-time funding partner of the Wikimedia Foundation. The Stanton Foundation is the beneficiary foundation created in the name of the U.S. broadcasting industry leader and media innovator, Frank Stanton. Stanton's commitment to civic education and freedom of speech carries on through his philanthropic legacy, the Stanton Foundation.

Wikipedia is written by hundreds of thousands of volunteers from around the world, and that won't change with this project. The Wikipedia Public Policy Initiative will recruit Wikipedia volunteers to work with public policy professors and students to identify topic areas for improvement, and work to make them better. Some of that work will take the form of classroom assignments, and pilot activities will begin during the 2010 fall academic semester. The project will continue through summer 2011.

More at the WMF Press Release.

anthony

QUOTE(Moulton @ Thu 13th May 2010, 1:31pm)

Wikimedia Foundation Launches Wikipedia Public Policy Initiative

Weekly News Digest from Information Today, May 13, 2010

QUOTE

The Wikimedia Foundation, the non-profit organization behind Wikipedia, announced a new project designed to improve the quality of public policy-related articles on Wikipedia. It is the first time the Wikimedia Foundation has launched a project designed to systematically increase the quality of articles in a particular topic area.

The project will be funded via a $1.2 million grant from the U.S.-based Stanton Foundation, a long-time funding partner of the Wikimedia Foundation. The Stanton Foundation is the beneficiary foundation created in the name of the U.S. broadcasting industry leader and media innovator, Frank Stanton. Stanton's commitment to civic education and freedom of speech carries on through his philanthropic legacy, the Stanton Foundation.

Wikipedia is written by hundreds of thousands of volunteers from around the world, and that won't change with this project. The Wikipedia Public Policy Initiative will recruit Wikipedia volunteers to work with public policy professors and students to identify topic areas for improvement, and work to make them better. Some of that work will take the form of classroom assignments, and pilot activities will begin during the 2010 fall academic semester. The project will continue through summer 2011.

More at the WMF Press Release.

(Corrected Link)

I must be out of practice in wikispeak, because I can't really figure out what all that means.

dogbiscuit

QUOTE(anthony @ Thu 13th May 2010, 2:41pm)

QUOTE(Moulton @ Thu 13th May 2010, 1:31pm)

Wikimedia Foundation Launches Wikipedia Public Policy Initiative

Weekly News Digest from Information Today, May 13, 2010

QUOTE

The Wikimedia Foundation, the non-profit organization behind Wikipedia, announced a new project designed to improve the quality of public policy-related articles on Wikipedia. It is the first time the Wikimedia Foundation has launched a project designed to systematically increase the quality of articles in a particular topic area.

The project will be funded via a $1.2 million grant from the U.S.-based Stanton Foundation, a long-time funding partner of the Wikimedia Foundation. The Stanton Foundation is the beneficiary foundation created in the name of the U.S. broadcasting industry leader and media innovator, Frank Stanton. Stanton's commitment to civic education and freedom of speech carries on through his philanthropic legacy, the Stanton Foundation.

Wikipedia is written by hundreds of thousands of volunteers from around the world, and that won't change with this project. The Wikipedia Public Policy Initiative will recruit Wikipedia volunteers to work with public policy professors and students to identify topic areas for improvement, and work to make them better. Some of that work will take the form of classroom assignments, and pilot activities will begin during the 2010 fall academic semester. The project will continue through summer 2011.

More at the WMF Press Release.

(Corrected Link)

I must be out of practice in wikispeak, because I can't really figure out what all that means.

I'm pondering what a public policy-related article is? Is that different to a private policy-related article.

Assuming it means (public policy)-related not public (policy-related) articles, then what are the organisations behind these policies?

Is this a major initiative of paid editing designed to piss Greg off big time?

About time Wikipedia hired some authors. (Though not as bad as the guy who complained that the new Wikipedia logo was a "dis-improvement"

).

thekohser

QUOTE(dogbiscuit @ Thu 13th May 2010, 11:29am)

Is this a major initiative of paid editing designed to piss Greg off big time?

I doubt that they'll be using the money to pay editors to improve public policy related content on Wikipedia.

They will be using the money to pay WMF staff and hired consultants to jet around on "outreach junkets" to various governmental and academic organizations, so that they can teach the gullible how to edit Wikipedia for free, in hopes that this will improve public policy related content on Wikipedia.

anthony

QUOTE(thekohser @ Thu 13th May 2010, 3:40pm)

QUOTE(dogbiscuit @ Thu 13th May 2010, 11:29am)

Is this a major initiative of paid editing designed to piss Greg off big time?

I doubt that they'll be using the money to pay editors to improve public policy related content on Wikipedia.

They will be using the money to pay WMF staff and hired consultants to jet around on "outreach junkets" to various governmental and academic organizations, so that they can teach the gullible how to edit Wikipedia for free, in hopes that this will improve public policy related content on Wikipedia.

Yeah, I think you're right. I thought it was talking about paid editing, but then after I reread "Some of that work will take the form of classroom assignments" I'm thinking not.

I hope the schools have policies against forcing students from participating in such "classroom assignments". Don't most schools have a policy that the copyrights on student-created works reside with the student?

GlassBeadGame

When WMF has an annual budget of $20,000,000 and 150-200 FTE staff working in program areas the community will wither away. I think we just got a little closer to that day.

endallbeall

QUOTE(GlassBeadGame @ Fri 14th May 2010, 12:58am)

When WMF has an annual budget of $20,000,000 and 150-200 FTE staff working in program areas the community will wither away. I think we just got a little closer to that day.

Respectfully, not bloody likely. Even if they got the $$ and the bodies, they could never replace the hundreds of thousands of volunteers. The best they could do is a slightly less sluggish version of Nupedia.

GlassBeadGame

QUOTE(endallbeall @ Sat 15th May 2010, 1:44pm)

QUOTE(GlassBeadGame @ Fri 14th May 2010, 12:58am)

When WMF has an annual budget of $20,000,000 and 150-200 FTE staff working in program areas the community will wither away. I think we just got a little closer to that day.

Respectfully, not bloody likely. Even if they got the $$ and the bodies, they could never replace the hundreds of thousands of volunteers. The best they could do is a slightly less sluggish version of Nupedia.

WP doesn't and never did have "hundreds of thousands of volunteers" even accepting that contributors are "volunteers" at all, which they are not. Almost everything is done by a few thousand people. Presently there are only about 1,000 active admins, and oddly even less prolific content providers. Under the regime I envision the staff would still work with volunteers, in the true sense of the word, including the attribute of agency. They (volunteers) would not be users providing any content they want but would be charged with working toward the mission of the project. There might even be a place for gnomes and copy-editors.

Kelly Martin

QUOTE(endallbeall @ Sat 15th May 2010, 1:44pm)

Respectfully, not bloody likely. Even if they got the $$ and the bodies, they could never replace the hundreds of thousands of volunteers.

Wikipedia needs administrators who are not doing it for the power trip, so losing those people and replacing them with paid professionals who can be fired for misconduct will only improve matters. Wikipedia has basically no copyeditors and no competent categorizers, so hiring people to do those jobs would also improve matters. As for content creators, there absolutely no shortage whatsoever of people who will write content, often quite good content, for free as long as there's some notional recognition for their work. A paid staff supporting uncompensated contributors like that could very well work nicely, especially if the authors got visible credit for their work.

Wikipedia has precious few volunteers; virtually everyone involved in Wikipedia is a customer, engaged in some sort of barter exchange in which they give whatever they give to Wikipedia in exchange for some other thing of value to them. The only time Wikipedia's "contributors" are counted as volunteers is when Jimmy is pimping for donations or making excuses for why they suck so much.

Jon Awbrey

Translation â€”

The Wikimediogre Foundation wants to amplify its impact on Public Policy.

For example, the Communicable Indecency Act, with especial reference to Â§230 thereof, is the brand of Public Policy that the WMF intends to drill as deep as possible into the bedrock of impressionable minds.

That Is All â€¦

Jon