Wikipedia:Wikipedia Signpost/Single/2007-12-26

In a Signpost exclusive, Jimbo Wales has announced the results of the 2007 ArbCom elections. In an e-mail sent to us Wednesday morning, Wales named six new arbitrators to the Committee, effective January 1, 2008:

For the 2007 ArbCom elections, I am making the following appointments and shifts:

• Newyorkbrad - Tranche Alpha
• FT2 - Tranche Alpha
• FayssalF - Tranche Alpha
• Sam Blacketer - Tranche Alpha
• Deskana - Tranche Alpha
  

This fills the 5 vacancies in Tranche Alpha.

Then I am removing Flcelloguy from Tranche Gamma for inactivity, with the understanding that if he chooses to return to active service, he may claim a (perhaps temporary) expansion seat in Tranche Gamma. This is intended to be the same situation as Mindspillage and Filiocht have in Tranche Beta.

Into Flcelloguy's seat, I am moving FloNight. This effectively extends her term by 1 year, moving her from Tranche Beta to Tranche Gamma.

And then finally I am appointing

Thebainer

into FloNight's old seat in Tranche Beta. This unfortunately gives him only a 1 year term, but he did come in 6th.

Finally, I want to announce a desire that the ArbCom should institute some informal notions of a required level of activity, and that I will gladly act upon the advice and consent of the ArbCom at mid-term to make replacement appointments (June-ish - July-ish) for any Arbs who unfortunately have found themselves unable to live up to the time commitments of the position.

I will gladly leave the choice of those mid-term appointments up to the Arbcom (or, at their desire, make the tough decision myself), but will have a strong preference at that time for appointments (based on the election results) from this list of runner-ups:

Giano II, David Fuchs, Shell Kinney, MastCell

.

Flcelloguy, meanwhile, was removed from the Arbitration Committee due to inactivity, but can return at any time to serve the remainder of his term (which expires in December 2009). Flcelloguy has not edited since May, when he noted that "I recently had an unexpected period of busyness. I should be back to active editing soon." This arrangement, as noted, is similar to the ones enacted for Mindspillage (Kat Walsh), who resigned when she joined the Wikimedia Foundation's Board of Trustees, and Filiocht, who has not edited significantly since December 2005 due to illness, and noted in June 2006 that s/he was "Away indefinitely."

Wales' comments about inactivity would serve as a new guideline for arbitrators; in previous years, some arbitrators have been criticized for their inactivity, but no standards had been proposed about expected activity. Raul654, an arbitrator since July 2004, was not re-elected in this year's elections, in part due to his inactivity, which was cited by some opposing voters. Other than Raul654, seven other arbitrators were inactive for at least eight weeks this year, including Flcelloguy and Neutrality, who has not participated in an arbitration case since October 2006.

This week, a resolution was approved to fill the two empty seats, and expand the Board of Trustees from seven to a maximum of eleven members:

In the aftermath of the resignation of Michael Davis (effective October 31, 2007) and Erik Möller (effective December 15, 2007), the board confirms its will to replace the two former board members, as well as its commitment to expand the number of members on the board of directors at the earliest convenience, up to a number of 11 members maximum. Due to its commitment to involve members from the community, at least half of the new members will be appointed for a term ending at the next board elections, in June 2008.

The resolution likely means that appointments of new members will be made soon, before the June 2008 board elections. The makeup of the Board would be as follows:

• Florence Devouard, Chair, elected position. Her term expires in June 2008, and she has indicated that she may be leaving the Board at the completion of her term (see below)
• Jimmy Wales, appointed position. Wales and all appointed members serve a one-year term, renewable by the Board; his term was renewed, and comes up for renewal in December 2008.
• Jan-Bart de Vreede, Vice Chair, appointed position. His term comes up for renewal in December 2008.
• Kat Walsh, elected position. Her term expires in July 2009.
• Frieda Brioschi, elected position. Her term expires in July 2009.
• A replacement for Davis, yet to be named. A search for a new Treasurer is in progress; the Board is looking for a candidate with experience in accounting.
• A replacement for Möller, yet to be named. This replacement would be appointed from the community, and would likely be up for election in June 2008.
• One or two additional positions from the community; these positions would likely be up for election in June 2008.
• One or two additional positions, which may be outside the community. The Board has indicated a desire to appoint professionals to some of these positions.

Thus, the Board will likely appoint either four or six additional members. Indications are that some or all of the elected positions will expire in June 2008, although Möller's seat was set to expire in July 2009, and his successor may retain the remainder of his two-year term. While no indication has been made by the Board as to how appointments will be made, it's likely that at least some of the appointments will come from those who were not elected in the 2007 Board elections.

In a separate announcement, Devouard noted that she is considering leaving the Board at the end of her term:

[In 2008], some of the board seats will be up for elections, including mine. I am not sure yet how many seats will be available, this will be clarified in the following weeks. But it seems clear there will be at least 3 seats. I wanted to give you a pre-position on this matter. In June 2008, I will complete 4 years on the board, including 1 year and a half as chair. I stopped working just 2 years ago, immediately before the birth of my third child. I now wish to officially be in activity again (meaning: working for a salary :-)). ... I also think I may be able to help the projects by continuing my activity within Wikimédia France and indicated some time ago, my interest for being a candidate at the next [Wikimédia France] board election (January or February 08).

As such, I would be happy to start the discussion as to who would be interested/willing joining the board of WMF (as appointed or as elected), and who would be potentially interested in the role of chair in the future.

NB: Greg Williams is on vacation. This rerun is from December 26, 2006.

This week's

After elections for new stewards ended last week, the Board of Trustees endorsed the results of the elections, and appointed all users who finished with at least 80% support, adding twelve new stewards:

1. Spacebirdy, 100.0%
2. Jusjih, 98.6%
3. .anaconda, 98.0%
4. Dungodung, 98.0%
5. Wpedzich, 96.6%
6. Thogo, 96.3%
7. Lar, 94.8%
8. Zirland, 94.6%
9. Millosh, 94.7%
10. Andre Engels, 93.8%
11. DerHexer, 81.2%
12. Nick1915, 80.2%

Meanwhile, confirmation of current stewards is complete, and discussion between stewards is ongoing as to whether some of the stewards should retain their status. As of press time, it appears that Ausir, Romihaitza, Snowdog, and Suisui will not be confirmed due to inactivity, and Datrio and Fantasy resigned their stewardship voluntarily prior to these discussions. Sj's reconfirmation is close, with stewards evenly split as to whether Sj should be reconfirmed. Sixteen of the remaining 23 stewards will definitely retain stewardship, with no objections from the community, and it appears that the other seven will be reconfirmed as well.

Jimbo Wales testifies before U.S. Senate Committee, touts wikis

On December 11th,

A new fundraising site was introduced this week; the design highlights a Wikipedian's story, what the money is used for, and simplifies the donation form significantly. The effects of such a site on donations have yet to be seen.

Donations on December 25 (Christmas) (228 donations, totaling $8,015.20) reached a fundraiser low; however, a series of large donations were received in the last week, including $4,000 from Brooke Burgess (with comment "Ubermind, Inc."), a €1,000 ($1,439.80) donation from an anonymous contributor, $1,024 from frequent contributor Jeff Moe, and $1,000 donations from Lawrence Lessig, Robert D. Hall and Ana F. Barreto, and two anonymous contributors.

Ironing board joke reported by German periodicals, President

A joke inserted into the German Wikipedia's article on the 1989 European Competition for Women's Football was unwittingly reported by multiple German newspapers and magazines, and subsequently mentioned by the President of Germany, Horst Köhler. The joke revolves around the gifts received by the German champions of the competition, who received a coffee set as part of their prizes. On September 10, the joke was embellished, with the addition of an ironing board to their "prizes". After the German team's victory in the 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup, the ironing board was subsequently reported in various German sources, including a syndicated article by Frank Hellmann, which was published on various German websites, including that of top periodical Der Spiegel ([1]). It was later referenced in a speech by Bundespräsident Köhler. The false information was removed on December 17.

Wikimania 2009 bidding continues

Wikimania 2009 bidding continued this week; one more bid was submitted this week: Kathmandu, Nepal. This joins two other official bids: Bogotá and Toronto. New bids will be open until January 12, at which time the jury will be announced. Bids already created will be open until February 3, when bidding will end, and deliberations will begin. On or before February 20, the host city for Wikimania 2009 will be announced to the public.

Briefly

• A poll is ongoing to find featured portal director(s). It is set to close on December 31.
• On Tuesday, January 8, editor and administrator Jonathan Hochman will give a lecture ("Wikipedia & Social Media") at the Tumblebrook Country Club in Bloomfield, Connecticut. The event will run from 6:30-9 p.m. The cost is $45 per person, but those who register before December 31st can save $10; the price includes dinner and cocktails.
• After ballooning to over 100,000 articles thanks to massive bot activity, the Lombard Wikipedia has shrunk to below 25,000 articles.
• The German Wikibooks has reached 10,000 modules. They now have 569 Books, 40 of which are "ready".
• The Japanese Wikipedia has reached 450,000 articles.
• The Bulgarian Wikipedia has reached 50,000 articles.
• The Tagalog Wikipedia has reached 15,000 articles.
• The Tahitian Wikipedia has reached 500 articles.
• The Aromanian Wikipedia has reached 2,000 articles.
• The Cherokee Wikipedia has reached 200 articles.

Organisational challenges as Wikipedia grows

Wikipedia's awkward adolescence - Several incidents in the past have caused speculation that Wikipedia has an informal inner circle consisting of administrators, outside of which edits might not survive very long. The wider issue at hand is that Wikipedia's governance structure is at a cross-roads - between that of a digital experiment and that of its "broader ambitions". In Wikipedia's favour is its transparency, where every article maintains a history and edit comments, but that has not prevented others from proposing sites that store text that has been rejected from Wikipedia, to enforce greater accountability. A problem that Wikipedia has to deal with is its use of jargon; following along the lines of the Simple English Wikipedia, perhaps Wikipedia could move towards explaining decisions in plain English.

Blogs vs. New York Times bet ends with Wikipedia declared winner

Long Bet Winner: Weblogs vs. The New York Times -

Wikipedian invited to Israel

Your wiki entry counts - David Shankbone, a Wikinews editor, went to Israel at the invitation of the Foreign Ministry, to offer him a first-hand look at the country. He was with a dozen or so American journalists who were invited in the hope of reversing a "one-dimensional view of Israel" that is said to persist through the narratives told by the media; the visit was said to be useful because Wikipedia editors aim to present a neutral, world view in articles. Shankbone defends Wikipedia by comparing it to a bulletin board, which merely hosts the information, and implores users to consider more than one source of information, even though Wikipedia is a useful starting point.

Other mentions

Other recent mentions in the online press include:

• The random endorsement: Wikipedia - A blogger endorses Wikipedia, after it helps him with his study to the extent that "Wikipedia has replaced Google in my life"
• Wikipedia: No Place for PR - Those who were formerly the audience are now producers of content too; others might end up writing about your company on Wikipedia, but beware the conflict of interest rules if you decide to contribute.
• Ex-Wikipedia COO Has Record - (see archived story) The case of Wikimedia's former COO continues to receive press coverage; new applicants now undergo background checks.
• Truth, anonymity and the Wikipedia Way - There is a contradiction between the anonymity of editors on Wikipedia, and the guidelines against editing with a conflict of interest.

• The outreach department strengthens the project's sense of community. Members that are involved in the department welcome new members to the project, help other editors in the project, manage the project newsletters and keep the project members in touch.
• The
  WP:1.0
  program, the article ratings are also used within the project itself to recognize articles of high quality and point out those that need more work.
• The
  Featured article status
  in one week.
• The
  peer reviews
  of India-related articles on request to obtain ideas for further improvement by having contributors who may not have previously worked on particular articles examine them.
• The photography department aims to provide a collection of high-quality photographs and images for use in India articles.
• The
  cartography department aims to create a collection of high-quality maps for use in India articles. The department gathers existing public domain and free-license maps
  as well as creating new ones from other materials where no suitable maps can be found.