Paid Wikipedia editing & disclosure series, 2015
Drawing by Nicholas Boudreau, licensed CC BY
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Category Archives: core
Public relations for Wikipedia
How to move the dial to “notable” Companies often want to put something on Wikipedia that has no independent, reliable sources to back it up. For Wikipedia, that’s a non-starter; no matter how many press releases or social media posts … Continue reading
Posted in Beginner how-to, conflict of interest, core, How-to, journalism, Terms of Use, wiki, Wikipedia
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Wikipedia: Six hopes for the next 15 years
This post was originally published on Medium.com. Wikipedia is an unheralded crown jewel of the Internet. And today, it turns 15! Founded before current titans like Facebook and YouTube (and even before predecessors like MySpace and Friendster), Wikipedia has shown … Continue reading
Posted in core, governance, history, journalism, wiki, Wikimedia Foundation, Wikipedia, Wikipedia and education
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Wikimedia Foundation’s strong step toward good governance
The Wikimedia Foundation (WMF) today took an important step toward running its finances in a more transparent and accountable way. Luis Villa, the WMF’s Senior Director of Community Engagement, explained (see video clip below, ~10 minutes) how the organization had incorporated a … Continue reading
Posted in conflict of interest, core, governance, systemic bias, wiki, Wikimedia Foundation, Wikipedia
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Grants and transparency: Wikimedia Foundation should follow standards it sets
I wrote and edited a number of grant proposals and reports on behalf of the Wikimedia Foundation (WMF) from 2009 to 2011. In that role, I participated in a number of staff discussions around restricted grants, and transparency in the … Continue reading
Posted in conflict of interest, core, governance, wiki, Wikimedia Foundation, Wikipedia
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Wikimedia Foundation ousts community-elected Trustee
Today, the Wikimedia Foundation’s ten member Board of Trustees voted to oust one of its members. (Updated links: see these two email list threads: one initiated by Dr. James Heilman, the other initiated by Board chair Patricio Lorente. The Wikipedia … Continue reading
Posted in conflict of interest, core, governance, wiki, Wikimedia Foundation, Wikipedia
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Conflict of interest and expertise
How can we best engage experts in the project of building and improving Wikipedia? This question has guided my work for many years, and that Wiki Strategies from the beginning. When the Wikimedia Foundation hired me in 2009, it was to … Continue reading
Washington Post asks, “why give to Wikipedia?”
The Washington Post just published a story about the Wikimedia Foundation’s annual fund-raising campaign: Wikipedia has a ton of money. So why is it begging you to donate yours? Reporter Caitlin Dewey, who quoted me and several others, did a good job with a tough topic. … Continue reading
Posted in conflict of interest, core, governance, journalism, wiki, Wikimedia Foundation, Wikipedia
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Work of Wikipedians and Wikimedians preserves history
On this day 47 years ago (October 16, 1968), two black American sprinters took advantage their moment on a global stage, when they — with a white Australian — quietly directed the world’s attention to the deep racial injustices that run through our … Continue reading
If Wikipedia required Open Access sources, it would be a lot less useful
Starting in 2008 I wrote a Wikipedia article on a proposed casino, to be built in the Columbia River Gorge. I wrote the article because I believed it was an important topic (and an Oregonian reporter and a Harvard scholar agreed); but … Continue reading
On partial disclosure
“Full” and “disclosure”: they’re two words that go together like peanut butter and jelly. Disclosure is meaningless unless its scope is appropriate. Has anybody called for Hillary Clinton to pick whichever email messages she’d like show to the public? No! … Continue reading
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Pete Forsyth