Paid Wikipedia editing & disclosure series, 2015
Drawing by Nicholas Boudreau, licensed CC BY
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Category Archives: Wikimedia Foundation
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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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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Superprotect removed: A milestone, and what it means
Yesterday the Superprotect user right, which I have long opposed, was removed from Wikimedia’s servers. In announcing the removal, the Wikimedia Foundation characterized Superprotect — accurately and appropriately, I would say — as having “set up a precedent of mistrust” among … Continue reading
Posted in Administrator, governance, wiki, Wikimedia Foundation, Wikipedia
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Panel: How can you write an open access encyclopedia in a closed access world?
Video archive part 1 and part 2 Much knowledge has always been locked away, throughout history. It’s inaccessible — or expensive to access — for all but a privileged few. Two Internet-era social movements have sought to change that: Wikipedia, which … 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
A survey of how paid Wikipedia services approach disclosure
Yesterday I described how one Wikipedia writing firm, David King’s Ethical Wiki, recently found that its practices ran afoul of Wikipedia’s Terms of Use (ToU), and announced changes to its practices. How do other agencies offering Wikipedia services approach similar … Continue reading
Wikipedian-for-hire must make clearer disclosure, says Wikipedia community & foundation
In August, longtime Wikipedia-editor-for-hire David King appealed to the broad community of Wikipedia editors and, simultaneously, to the staff of the Wikimedia Foundation, asking if it was OK for him to skip disclosing specifics called for by the site’s Terms of … Continue reading
Posted in governance, paid editing, Terms of Use, wiki, Wikimedia Foundation
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Wikipedia cofounder misrepresents the site’s rules on paid editing
Please scroll down for Jimmy Wales’ responses to this on Facebook and Quora, outlined in red. Wikipedia co-founder Jimmy Wales is, unsurprisingly, frequently approached by reporters as a top authority on the site. For instance, the article “Wikipedia struggles to save its … Continue reading
Superprotect: How Wikimedia board candidates addressed it
I have long held that the Wikimedia Foundation’s flawed approach to software development and deployment, culminating in the sudden release of the draconian “superprotect” software feature last year, would be the central issue in this year’s election for three of … Continue reading
Posted in governance, Terms of Use, wiki, Wikimedia Foundation, Wikipedia
Tagged Trustee election 2015
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User:Peteforsyth
Pete Forsyth