Wikipedia:Wikipedia Signpost/2006-12-11/SPV

This week, we're proud to introduce a new feature:

An additional note this week to those users who have the Signpost delivered to their talk page or via e-mail through our "spamlist" services; due to an error on my part last week, the technology report was published late, and most users did not receive the technology report with other stories. If you missed it, last week's report is available in its entirety here; my apologies for leaving it out.

Finally, an interesting statistic: Michael Snow informs me that last week was the Signpost's 100th issue. Thanks to the community for your continued support, and thanks for reading the Signpost.

— Ral315

The Board of Trustees was expanded this week as three new members joined the Board. Following a resolution, the Board added Kat Walsh (Mindspillage), Oscar van Dillen (Oscar), and Jan-Bart de Vreede (Jan-Bart), who will take outgoing member Tim Shell's seat. The expansion brings the total number of people on the Board to seven and follows previous discussion on the possible expansion of the Board.

Walsh, a graduate student at the

Van Dillen, meanwhile, is a musician and composer at the Conservatory of Rotterdam (see his article). The president of Wikimedia Netherlands, the Dutch chapter of the Wikimedia Foundation, van Dillen is a bureaucrat on the Dutch Wikipedia and an admin on Meta-Wiki. He has also been a steward since June 2005, when he was first elected.

De Vreede, a father of two, is also from the Netherlands, and currently works for the Kennisnet Foundation. Though relatively new to the Wikimedia Foundation, he has attended both Wikimanias, where he was a speaker each time, and has worked to promote the use of wikis previously. He also has experience working with wikis using MediaWiki through the use of internal wikis at the Kennisnet Foundation.

The expansion of the Board had been previously discussed on the Foundation mailing list extensively, and a resolution passed in January had authorized the creation of a committee, composed of Florence Nibart-Devouard, Jimbo Wales, and then-Board member Angela Beesley, to look into the expansion of the Board and recommend all steps necessary. A recent audit report of the Foundation by the accounting firm Gregory, Sharer, and Stuart (see related story) had also suggested the expansion of the Board by "seeking additional independent board membership."

Besides appointing the three new Board members, the resolution passed also clarified several other issues. All appointed members of the Board will serve a maximum of one year, which can be renewed, and all elected members will serve a two-year term. However, both Walsh's and van Dillen's terms, both of which started officially on Friday, 8 December, 2006 will expire on Sunday 1 July, 2007; elections will be held the following month. De Vreede's term, meanwhile, will expire on Monday 31 December, 2007, as he will be serving the remainder of Tim Shell's term. Shell resigned earlier this year, and his resignation will become effective on Friday 15 December, 2006 when de Vreede will begin his term.

The resolution also clarified the terms of three of the other four current Board members. Both the terms of Wales and Michael Davis will expire in December 2007, and the Board also appointed Nibart-Devouard to another term once her current elected term concludes in July 2007. Thus, Nibart-Devouard will serve until July 2008. No mention was made of Board member Erik Möller's term, which is also set to expire in July 2007.

The resolution also authorized elections to the Board in June 2007 and June 2008; three positions will be open in each of the elections, and the winners will serve two-year terms on the Board.

The resolution was first announced by Board chair Nibart-Devouard on the Foundation mailing list. In her post, she thanked Shell for his service and welcomed aboard the three new members. After briefly introducing de Vreede, she explained that the Board was looking for "a more external guy", or someone not already deeply involved with the Foundation, who would be able to provide a different perspective and bring additional experience and leadership.

Both Walsh and van Dillen had run for the Board in the September elections, when Möller was elected, and had come in second and third, respectively. Walsh had 30 percent of the total vote, which used approval voting, and van Dillen had 28%; Möller had 42%. In her candidate statement, Walsh advocated greater communication within the Foundation and increased partnerships with other organizations, and in an interview with the Signpost that month, reiterated her commitment to streamlining the internal organization. She also cited her "skill at communication and dispute resolution" as some of her key strengths.

In his candidate statement, Van Dillen argued against copyright and instead stated his strong beliefs on copyleft, and also emphasized his longstanding commitment to the Wikimedia Foundation's mission. In his interview with the Signpost, he commented on his goal of "improving the Board's ability to act" and cited his "expertise and professional experience" as a former manager, combined with his experience with many language communities in Wikimedia projects, as some of his key strengths. Like Walsh, he also advocated a "more clear structure of organization."

The Wikimedia Foundation released its first-ever audited financial information this week, general counsel and interim executive director Brad Patrick announced on Friday, 8 December. The audit covered the financial affairs of the organization dating back to its initial formation in 2003.

"It is my pleasure to announce the public release of audited financial statements of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. for fiscal years 2004, 2005 and 2006 inclusive," he said. "This represents a significant step forward in the life of the Foundation." He continued by thanking Gregory, Sharer & Stuart, the accounting firm which conducted the audit, for its work, as well as the work of Danny Wool and Board member Michael Davis in helping and assisting the auditors.

Two documents were released by the Foundation, both in

The financial statement, meanwhile, included more detailed breakdowns of the Foundation's finances in the three fiscal years; it first stated its finding that the Foundation operated "in conformity with

The audit concluded with notes on its findings on the Foundation; after summarizing its mission and activities, including each of the projects, the audit confirmed that the Foundation was a non-profit, tax-exempt organization in the United States. It also mentioned that the Foundation currently owns 187 shares of Google stock, which was received as a donation (as of the close of trading 11 December, this would be worth just over $90,000).

Patrick finished his announcement by asking users to notice the Foundation's "[growth] at an astonishing rate." "You will also see [in the audit] 'what it takes to run Wikipedia for a year' - a glimpse of the financial challenges we face trying to maintain our role as a top website on the planet, with a skeleton staff and ever-increasing demand for the educational content created by you, our community of editors and contributors," he stated. "Anonymous visitors will also be reminded that Wikimedia Foundation is a *charitable organization*, something which distinguishes us from the

An organization intended to help women feel more comfortable in Wikipedia and wiki communities drew fire this week for its controversial policy of banning men from joining the mailing list and an external wiki. The mailing list's creator,

In an announcement on multiple Wikipedia mailing lists last Monday, Beesley announced the creation of "WikiChix", an organization for female editors to "discuss issues of gender bias in wikis and ways to encourage more female editors, and just as a place that females can feel more comfortable posting to." The organization was intended to be similar to

The announcement followed a late November discussion, started by Keitei, which discussed the existence of systemic bias with respect to gender. While the thread originally focused on systemic bias with respect to articles, most of the comments discussed issues with females feeling intimidated, both on-wiki and on the mailing lists. Keitei noted that "As far as women reading the mailing list, I know that there are plenty who do (like myself), but do not discuss much. I know that I also read more than I edit, perhaps this is the case with more females than just myself?" [2] KillerChihuahua, one of the more prominent female posters in the discussion, noted that "When I first started contributing to this thread I received a number of emails, all from women, all thanking me and encouraging me, yet none of them posted to the list." [3] Mindspillage, however, said that "I'm surprised to hear of so many women feeling intimidated over concerns of sexism here because I simply haven't experienced it -- or perhaps I have and am oblivious to it." [4]

Like the initial discussion of gender bias, the WikiChix announcement was controversial, and attracted a wide view of opinions. Matt Crypto noted that other organizations like Ubuntu Women did not ban men from its mailing lists: "I have to confess to being unhappy with the existence of an officially-endorsed *females-only* mailing list and wiki. Discussion isn't enabled by segregating the people who should be talking to each other about a problem, and I do not think Wikipedia should be in the business of excluding people from discussions because of their gender." [5]

Wikimedia Foundation Trustee Erik Moeller said, "This is a positive initiative. I have only one issue with it, which is that the mailing list is on Wikimedia's servers, while the wiki is not. While we all trust you, of course, to do the right thing, as a matter of fair play towards others with similar ideas, it might be sensible to either host the list separately, or to move the wiki to Wikimedia's servers." [7]

While most responses were friendly, the tone of many responses on both sides of the issue became increasingly bitter, a fact noted by Kat Walsh: "The question of whether a single-sex list is 1) needed and 2) appropriate for Wikimedia to host is a valid one. For discussion by everyone. Its existence does *not* affect only the women; it affects the whole community. (Those women who would at the present time like to discuss the issue in a more private forum can do so -- and have done so.) So I would like to hear discussion from everyone it affects, including you -- but if you're not going to raise the tone of that open discussion, don't join it. Which applies to everyone, including several others in the many spawned threads, but particularly those who would otherwise claim to value respectful discourse and consideration of others' needs." [8]

The mailing list was originally hosted on the Wikimedia servers; Foundation Chair Florence Devouard had given her approval to the initiative. However, due to the controversy surrounding the incident, as well as questions about whether the project was sanctioned by the Foundation, Devouard asked Beesley to move the mailing list; the list is currently located on Wikia's servers, where female editors may join the list.

An article on the internet trolling association Gay Nigger Association of America was deleted on 28 November, after the 18th attempt for its deletion (though most prior attempts were made by trolls). A subsequent deletion review affirmed the page's deletion, and the page now exists only to prevent it from being recreated.

The page was created in April 2004 (though as early as January 2004,

In a mailing list discussion on the deletion, Jimbo Wales weighed in:

"The problem is that this article had no legitimate sources, not even close, and after a long period of time, no one was able to come up with any, since there really are not any. There is no way to write a proper article because there is no way to find out the truth in a way that is reliable. There is a curious sort of backlash in many cases when the subject matter *is* a bit uncomfortable. If this was some obscure blog of the same general stature, it would have been deleted without a peep. But because we are sooooo terrified that we might actually delete something for the wrong reason, we end up keeping stuff for the wrong reason. ... It's all about whether we can write a proper article with reliable third party sources and no original research."

At press time, discussion was still continuing on the article's talk page about its deletion.

WikiWorld is a weekly comic, carried by the Signpost, that highlights a few of the fascinating but little-known articles in the vast Wikipedia archives. The text for each comic is excerpted from one or more existing Wikipedia articles. WikiWorld offers visual interpretations on a wide range of topics: offbeat cultural references and personality profiles, obscure moments in history and unlikely slices of everyday life - as well as "mainstream" subjects with humorous potential.

Cartoonist

Williams works as a visual journalist for The Tampa Tribune, a daily newspaper in Tampa, Florida. He also has worked as an illustrator and designer at newspapers in Dubuque, Iowa, and Dayton, Ohio. The Signpost interviewed Williams this week:

How long have you been drawing comics? How long have you been in the newspaper industry?

I started drawing comic strips in grade school, on whatever scraps of paper I could find. Some of my earliest comics, in fact, were drawn on the inside of ripped-open envelopes from insurance companies. (Not quite as inspiring as Abraham Lincoln ciphering with chunks of charcoal on a wooden shovel, I know.)

For several years, I contributed weekly comic strips and editorial cartoons to my college newspaper at the

While developing a comic-strip feature for The Tampa Tribune, I came across a Wikipedia article that seemed ideally suited to a cartoon-style adaptation. I contacted the Wikimedia Foundation, to ask about the legality of using Wikipedia text as the basis for a single installment of my proposed comic - and, as the result of subsequent discussions, refined the basic concept for a separate WikiWorld strip.

What are your future plans with WikiWorld and your other works?

Much like the ever-changing logo design on Google's search page, I am hopeful that the WikiWorld comic strip will come to be seen as a fun and informative destination for regular users of Wikipedia.

Is there anything else you want to say about yourself or your works?

During the past year, I have been inspired by several artists who chose to make their work freely available on the Web: animator Scott Bateman ("Bateman 365") and singer/songwriter Jonathan Coulton ("Code Monkey"). Their commitment to creative expression - and to the free exchange of ideas - provided the spark that led me to Wikipedia.

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The next Wikimedia Foundation fundraiser is expected to begin during the upcoming week, according to Board of Trustees chair Florence Devouard. This is slightly delayed from the anticipated start date of Friday, 8 December, as the final preparations are still being made. Among these, the Foundation has released the results of its recent audit (see related story).

The second steward elections of 2006 will end on Friday, 15 December, with both the voting for new stewards and the confirmation of current stewards concluding. As of press time, according to a bot-updated page developed by Gurch, all of the candidates had at least 30 votes in support, and 14 of the 15 current candidates had at least an 80 percent support ratio, including one candidate with exactly 80 percent support. The other candidate had 78 percent support. Any candidate who garners at least 30 support votes and a minimum of 80 percent support is eligible to be appointed by the Board of Trustees. Though the exact number of new stewards that will be appointed is uncertain, it is expected to be between 10 and 20; all nine of the candidates who met the criteria in the January 2006 steward elections were appointed.

A resolution was passed by the Board on Thursday, 7 December with four votes in favor and none in opposition. The resolution approves an agreement that clarifies the role between local Wikimedia organizations and the Wikimedia Foundation; the agreement covers the use of the Wikimedia name, utilization of the Foundation logo, and conduct and activity by each local organization.

The sixth team bulletin from the Wikimania 2007 Taiwan team was released this week. Bulletins are released about once every week and a half, although there is no exact schedule. The current bulletin announces the opening of a bank account for donations to Wikimania, the creation of pages to place web banners, as well as a volunteer training session, which is open to anyone interested, for Wikimania volunteers that will be held on Saturday, 9 December in Taipei; a meetup will occur after the session.

The

• The Turkmen Wikipedia has reached 500 articles.
• The Irish Wikipedia has reached 500 registered users.
• The Marathi Wikipedia has reached 42,000 edits.
• The Macedonian Wikipedia has reached 1,000 registered users.
• The Finnish Wikipedia has reached 90,000 articles.
• The Sanskrit Wikipedia has reached 1,000 articles.
• The Occitan Wikipedia has reached 6,000 articles.
• The Arabic Wikipedia has reached 40,000 registered users.
• The Waloon Wikipedia has reached 8,000 articles.
• The Galician Wikipedia has reached 20,000 articles.
• The Afrikaans Wikipedia has reached 6,000 articles.