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{{divbox|blue|Welcome to the Water cooler| This is a place to let you know what is happening and to discuss our external projects and activities. Feel free to suggest ideas that could help our charitable mission or ask questions about how you can help. To discuss organizational or operational matters you should head over to the [[Engine room]].}}
{{divbox|blue|Welcome to the water cooler| This is a place to find out what is happening and to discuss our external projects and activities. Feel free to suggest ideas that could help our charitable mission or ask questions about how you can help. To discuss the inner workings of the charity, head over to the [[engine room]].}}
{{divbox|green|WMUK Grants programme - a piece of cake?[[file:Tile wmuk.jpeg|75px|left]]|<center>Applying for a grant is easy.<p>If Wikimedia UK can help you improve Wikimedia projects, check out our [[grants|grants page]].</center>}}
{{divbox|green|WMUK Grants programme - a piece of cake?[[file:Tile wmuk.jpeg|75px|left]]|<center>Applying for a grant is easy.<p>If Wikimedia UK can help you improve Wikimedia projects, check out our [[grants|grants page]].</center>}}
== Kanban for editathons ==
== Free Knowledge Advocacy Group EU - statement of intent ==
[[File:Flag_of_Europe.svg|thumb]]
Hello everyone. As you may have seen the board discussed the Free Knowledge Advocacy Group EU at their meeting the weekend past. The Group is a collection of Wikimedia chapters which is looking at ways to improve the regulations regarding copyright in the EU. They have provisionally agreed to sign a collective statement of intent which sets out how the group will work. This is subject to a community discussion period. Please do take a [[Free_Knowledge_Advocacy_Group_EU_statement_of_intent|look at the statement here]] and get involved in the [[Talk:Free_Knowledge_Advocacy_Group_EU_statement_of_intent|discussion here]]. Thank you. [[User:Stevie Benton (WMUK)|Stevie Benton (WMUK)]] ([[User talk:Stevie Benton (WMUK)|talk]]) 13:14, 11 December 2013 (UTC)
===The statement has been signed===
I am pleased to announce that the Free Knowledge Advocacy Group EU's statement of intent is fully supported and has been signed by the board of WMUK. --[[User:MichaelMaggs|MichaelMaggs]] ([[User talk:MichaelMaggs|talk]]) 10:49, 1 January 2014 (UTC)
{{clear}}
== Potential MOU and collaboration with the BBC ==
Hello everyone. I'm currently exploring how we may be able to develop a working relationship with the BBC. We are discussing various possibilities for collaboration and a memorandum of understanding. Before we go too far I'd like to get an idea of how people feel about working with the BBC. I'd also welcome suggestions for projects we may work on together. There's a [[Potential_memorandum_of_understanding_and_collaboration_with_BBC|page with some notes here]] so please use the associated talk page for the discussion. Thank you. [[User:Stevie Benton (WMUK)|Stevie Benton (WMUK)]] ([[User talk:Stevie Benton (WMUK)|talk]]) 13:28, 13 December 2013 (UTC)
We are now dotting the 'i's and crossing the 't's on QRpedia. The next question is how do we make sure the community benefits from it? Do we need training, events etc. We have already started a FAQ page to help those who want to use it but is there more we can do?
As Jon implies, this is a good place for us to discuss possible external activities and projects using QRpedia codes that could benefit from WMUK support. Now that WMUK owns the rights in QRpedia, how do we make sure that we get maximum community and public engagement? <small>Following creation of the new [[Engine room]], I have moved the technical and organizational discussion of QRPedia there.<small>--[[User:MichaelMaggs|MichaelMaggs]] ([[User talk:MichaelMaggs|talk]]) 10:35, 21 December 2013 (UTC)</small>
: I've been very reliably informed that York City Council are interested in running a city-wide QRpedia project. To my knowledge, there has been no official discussions with WMUK as yet, however, there may be more going on that I'm personally aware of. Given my geographic proximity to York (I'm based in Scarborough) I'd gladly be willing to become involved in such a project were WMUK to support such a project officially. --[[User:Toni Sant (WMUK)|Toni Sant (WMUK)]] ([[User talk:Toni Sant (WMUK)|talk]]) 14:42, 21 December 2013 (UTC)
{{clear}}
I've started [[:meta:QRpedia#Frequently_Asked_Questions|an FAQ section on Meta]], assistance there would be appreciated. There is a scheme coming for Kerala, and we need to make sure QRpedia is in our literature and has a submission for Wikimania. [[User:Jonathan Cardy (WMUK)|Jonathan Cardy (WMUK)]] ([[User talk:Jonathan Cardy (WMUK)|talk]]) 11:01, 8 January 2014 (UTC)
:[[User:Philafrenzy|Philafrenzy]] ([[User talk:Philafrenzy|talk]]) 22:44, 13 December 2013 (UTC)
::The bit about the secret cabal is remarkably inaccurate. It doesn't reference Phillippe Beaudette's cardigans at all. [[User:Chase me ladies, I'm the Cavalry|Chase me ladies, I'm the Cavalry]] ([[User talk:Chase me ladies, I'm the Cavalry|talk]]) 01:33, 14 December 2013 (UTC)
:::And the scale is all wrong. The ''City of in Popular Culture'' is far larger than that in reality. [[User:Philafrenzy|Philafrenzy]] ([[User talk:Philafrenzy|talk]]) 00:40, 15 December 2013 (UTC)
== Book of Aneirin put online by National Library of Wales ==
"The Book of Aneirin, one of the most important literary works from medieval Wales, can now be freely viewed online.
The 13th century text is now kept at the National Library of Wales in Aberystwyth. Written around 1265, the Book of Aneirin contains a long poem called ‘Y Gododdin’. The poem is attributed to Aneirin, who was in his prime during the second half of the sixth century and commemorates the heroic deeds of part of the Gododdin tribe who fell in an assault upon the strategic site of Catraeth (Catterick, Yorkshire), about the year 600. After a fierce battle, only 3 Brythonic warriors escaped with their lives, among them the poet Aneirin. He then composed a series of stanzas in a form of early Welsh, commemorating the slain young warriors."
[[File:WCCWiki4.jpg|thumb|A {{wp|kanban board}} at the Women in Classical Studies editathon at Senate House, London]]
I just saw the newsletter with a picture of the {{wp|kanban board}} used at the Women in Classical Studies editathon. What a great idea! It helps people share what they are working on. Helps to avoid edit conflicts. Enables organisers to list all the articles that have been improved. It could possibly work well for a recap session at the end too, where people talk about the changes they made.
Who was involved with that editathon? Who has used it elsewhere? I would love to hear how it has been used in practice.
*Landing/intro page for the manuscript: http://www.llgc.org.uk/index.php?id=6336
The bottom of the page however notes: "The National Library of Wales has digitised and published the Book of Aneirin by kind permission of Cardiff Council. Rights relating to the use of these images are retained by Cardiff Council: permission for copies for commercial research, or for publication in any form, must be obtained from Cardiff Central Library, The Hayes, Cardiff CF10 1FL, localstudieslibrary{{@}}cardiff.gov.uk"
[[User:Yaris678|Yaris678]] ([[User talk:Yaris678|talk]]) 15:09, 3 February 2017 (GMT)
I think that means that we couldn't do anything with this on WikiSource for example? Is this something we should be talking to Cardiff Council about to try and get the rights freed up? [[user:Thryduulf|Thryduulf]] (talk: [[user talk:Thryduulf|local]] | [[w:user talk:Thryduulf|en.wp]] | [[wikt:user talk:Thryduulf|en.wikt]]) 00:42, 14 December 2013 (UTC)
: Hi [[User:Yaris678|Yaris678]], I was the lead trainer at the [[ wikipedia:Meetups/UK/Institute_of_Classical_Studies_Jan_2017 |Women in Classical Studies editathon]]. I saw the kanban in an [https://www.instagram.com/p/BClfaSjhVdG/ Instagram post] for an [[wikipedia:Meetup/ArtAndFeminism|Art+Feminism]] editathon. It worked much better than expected - a fantastic indicator of the [https://youtu.be/bAWxTPZZNrg?t=2m27s achievements of the day].[[User:Eartha78|Eartha78]] ([[User talk:Eartha78|talk]]) 19:02, 3 February 2017 (GMT)
:It might be worth reminding our friends at Cardiff Council that copyright in the original work is not indefinite. While it's possible that local laws allow a "sweat of the brow" claim over new images (reasonably so for pictures of three dimensional objects), that doesn't seem to apply in the USA to images of two-dimensional pages, so one of our overseas colleagues might upload them to WMF servers (suitably cropped, to remove the modern accessories). we could also point to the recent mass release of scanned images by the British Library (not to mention US national archives and the Rijksmuseum) as more enlightened examples of best practice. As for Wikisource, attempts to claim copyright over the text content are laughable and can (IANAL) be ignored with impunity. <span class="vcard"><span class="fn">[[User:Pigsonthewing|Andy Mabbett]]</span> (User:<span class="nickname">Pigsonthewing</span>); [[User talk:Pigsonthewing|Andy's talk]]; [[Special:Contributions/Pigsonthewing|Andy's edits]]</span> 12:14, 14 December 2013 (UTC)
: I've mentioned this discussion, [https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Commons:Village_pump#Book_of_Aneirin_put_online_by_National_Library_of_Wales on Commons:Village pump]. <span class="vcard"><span class="fn">[[User:Pigsonthewing|Andy Mabbett]]</span> (User:<span class="nickname">Pigsonthewing</span>); [[User talk:Pigsonthewing|Andy's talk]]; [[Special:Contributions/Pigsonthewing|Andy's edits]]</span> 12:52, 14 December 2013 (UTC)
:Another user has created [[:File:The Book of Aneirin.pdf]]. <span class="vcard"><span class="fn">[[User:Pigsonthewing|Andy Mabbett]]</span> (User:<span class="nickname">Pigsonthewing</span>); [[User talk:Pigsonthewing|Andy's talk]]; [[Special:Contributions/Pigsonthewing|Andy's edits]]</span> 20:37, 14 December 2013 (UTC)
::As far as I am aware, "sweat of the brow" remains a myth rather than a legal reality in the UK too. This is one of those situations where Wikimedia should be calling the bluff on these sorts of claims rather than letting fear of prosecution where there is no legal basis suppress legitimate open knowledge, ''especially'' in the many cases where public domain documents are being locked away on thin rationales of revenue creation, which do not survive basic scrutiny of the financial record. If anyone has some useful UK case studies of anyone being successfully taken to court and ordered to pay damages after a "sweat of the brow" case, I would love to review the case notes.
::By the way, I should declare that I have done a couple of batch uploads from UK institutions this year which ignored false claims of copyright or non-commercial use restrictions. I do correspond with the institutions and try to move them on in their thinking, but as an open knowledge advocate I do not think it right that I should be expected to sit by indefinitely when polite negotiation has got us nowhere. I take care with checking there is completely unambiguous legal evidence on record of the works I upload being public domain; which means that no judge could ever assess damages being more than zero pence, which would make for a useful case study should that ever happen. --[[User:Fæ|Fæ]] ([[User talk:Fæ|talk]]) 12:08, 15 December 2013 (UTC)
== Guidance on COI ==
::Cool. So how did you use it? Did you get people to brainstorm a load of post-its of articles to look at, at the beginning of the day? Did you just say 'if you have an idea, stick it on the board'? Did you come with the post-its filled out already? [[User:Yaris678|Yaris678]] ([[User talk:Yaris678|talk]]) 10:25, 11 February 2017 (GMT)
Hi, Can I have some guidance on what I've done here. I bumped into a conversation in a Google Group that a prominent organisation were actively planning to edit two Wikipedia articles directly associated with their 'products'. I posted into the Google group a bit of advice on COI and provided a link to the relevant page. The two articles fall into a project and so I also advised them to contact the group, and I provided a link for this too. I decided not to create a topic for discussion on the COI noticeboard because, as yet, they haven't actually done anything. Is that okay, or should I have done anything differently? (Sorry if I've been a bit vague but I don't want to out them unnecessarily) Thanks in advance.--[[User:Graeme Arnott|Graeme Arnott]] ([[User talk:Graeme Arnott|talk]]) 23:39, 14 December 2013 (UTC)
::: The group were quite well prepared prior to the editathon. They had identified a number of articles to create - some had already done the research and started to writing in their sandbox. When we began the second part of the editathon they each committed to an article, wrote it on a sticky note and stuck it to the wall! Moving the notes from left to right was surprisingly motivating and a good excuse to stretch ones legs. Also used the sticky notes for an evaluation exercise at the end of the session. [[User:Eartha78|Eartha78]] ([[User talk:Eartha78|talk]]) 18:27, 16 February 2017 (GMT)
:I would not expect any more than off-wiki advice, I would be cautious about raising the equivalent of warning flags on-wiki before anything has actually been done. In my past OTRS work, I have suggested by discrete email that those with plans to edit when they have an obvious COI, share their thoughts on {{w|WP:COIN}} where someone might even offer to help more directly and this sounds pretty much what you have done. --[[User:Fæ|Fæ]] ([[User talk:Fæ|talk]]) 11:43, 15 December 2013 (UTC)
:Hi Graeme. You've done just the right thing. If you're concerned that they're going to go ahead with dishonestly, then let an admin know (or the COI noticeboard, but it can get a bit hectic on there with so many people who feel strongly about the issue). [[User:Chase me ladies, I'm the Cavalry|Chase me ladies, I'm the Cavalry]] ([[User talk:Chase me ladies, I'm the Cavalry|talk]]) 19:02, 15 December 2013 (UTC)
::Thanks for that folks; much appreciated. :-) --[[User:Graeme Arnott|Graeme Arnott]] ([[User talk:Graeme Arnott|talk]]) 21:51, 16 December 2013 (UTC)
== Training the Trainers February 2014 event ==
::::Thank you Eartha78. That is really interesting. I will use this next time I do an editathon. [[User:Yaris678|Yaris678]] ([[User talk:Yaris678|talk]]) 09:39, 19 February 2017 (GMT)
Wikimedia UK is committed to supporting our volunteers and to encourage them to teach others how to edit Wikipedia and other Wikimedia projects, we are running a weekend training workshop. This will take place on the weekend of 1—2 February 2014 in Cardiff. This session is targeted at volunteers in Wales and the immediate surrounding areas. We are especially interested in editors of Wicipedia Cymraeg who work through the Welsh language. However, both English and Welsh language editors on all Wikimedia projects will be welcomed. The workshop itself will be delivered in English.
== Wikimedia UK's plans for 2018 - community consultation ==
[[File:Programmes Consultation Video - Wikimedia UK.webm|centre|thumb|800x800px|Watch our video about our plans for 2018]]
The workshop will be delivered by a professional training company and aims to improve delegates’ abilities to deliver any training workshop. It’s especially relevant to anybody who already runs Wikimedia-related training, or is very interested in doing so in near future.
Wikimedia UK is in the process of writing our proposal to the Wikimedia Foundation for funding during 2018/19. The deadline for the bid is 1st October after which it is assessed by staff at the Foundation, there is an opportunity for community feedback and questions, and the Funds Dissemination Committee (FDC) meet to consider proposals and make recommendations about grants.
The workshop is a chance to:
As 2018/19 is the final year of our 2016 - 2019 strategy, our programme for next year is in many ways a continuation of our activities in 2017 and falls under three key strands:
* Get accredited and receive detailed feedback about your presenting and training skills
# Diverse content and contributors
* Get general trainer skills which you can then apply when delivering specific Wikipedia workshops
# Promoting open knowledge
* Share your skills with others
# Education and Learning
* Help design a training programme that serves Wikimedia UK in the long term.
The course will run from 9:30 am—6:30pm on Saturday and 9am—5pm on Sunday. A light breakfast and lunch will be provided. We should also be able to cover travel and accommodation if you let us know in advance.
These strands are directly related to our three strategic goals, which are to:
If you are interested in attending, please indicate your commitment by signing up on [[Training the Trainers/February 2014 event]]. Spaces are limited to 12 places.
* Increase the quality and quantity of coverage of subjects that are currently underrepresented on Wikipedia and the other Wikimedia projects
* Contribute to the development of open knowledge in the UK, by increasing understanding and recognition of the value of open knowledge and advocating for change at an organisational, sectoral and public policy level
* Support the use of the Wikimedia projects as important tools for education and learning in the UK
We would welcome input from the UK community into our plans for next year - which we are still shaping - and have created a short video to highlight our programme strands which you can watch [https://youtu.be/56s3Ch7sHbQ here]. You can give us feedback on our programme anytime, but if you’d like your views to be taken into account in our submission to the Wikimedia Foundation for funding, please do comment below by Friday 29th September. If you’d prefer to get in touch by email, feel free to contact me on lucy.crompton-reid@wikimedia.org.uk.
If you are not able to attend this time but would like to take part in the future, please add it to the event page or let me know by email to {{nowrap|katie.chan{{@}}wikimedia.org.uk}} — we will be offering more sessions in the future.
There are several questions in particular that I’d like to ask:
Please do not hesitate to contact me with any questions. I can also put you in touch with past participants who will be able to share their experiences with you.
* Is there anything that Wikimedia UK should be doing more of, or new activities that we should consider, in 2018/19?
* What work would you like to see us continue?
* Is there anything you think we should do less of or stop doing?
* How would you like to be involved in Wikimedia UK’s programme next year?
== ACTRIAL and new users creating new pages at events ==
== Wikipedia Takes UCL ==
Hi All,
[[File:UCL-94338637-M.jpg|thumb|UCL front quad.]]
We are in the process of planning the provision of support for a week-long cluster of events at UCL, which are scheduled to take place during the week commencing Monday 17 February 2014. [[Wikipedia Takes UCL]] is the name that has been picked for this series of activities and a number of WMUK trainers are needed to provide the sort of support we normally give at workshops for new editors, editathons, and other similar events. If you are an accredited WMUK trainer, please consider joining the team of trainers I will be coordinating, even if you're only available for just one session. You can sign-up [[Wikipedia Takes UCL|here]] and make sure you include dates/times you're available. Thank you. --[[User:Toni Sant (WMUK)|Toni Sant (WMUK)]] ([[User talk:Toni Sant (WMUK)|talk]]) 15:05, 20 December 2013 (UTC)
Some thoughts on {{wp|WP:ACTRIAL}} and our events:
{{clear}}
*It makes sense to encourage new users to work in {{wp|Wikipedia:Drafts|Draft: name space}}.
*This doesn't change the fact that it is worth asking people to create an account in advance (and to remember their password!)
*We have to expect that some people won't create an account and most of those who have won't be auto-confirmed - this is OK.
*If there are admins present at the event, they can make new users confirmed.... although I wouldn't stress over it - there is no harm in the Draft: name space.
*All the above is less of an issue if we take the approach of [[#Training from the back of the room]] described above. If the group is split into teams that are deliberately set to have the full spread of ability, we can encourage people to help other team members, including the following:
**Middle-ability people to show the people with no account how to create an account.
**Experienced editors to help newer editors to find a page that might need editing.
**Experienced editors to create pages that other team members are interested in editing.
You could even get admins to confirm accounts of non-confirmed people in their team, but it might actually be better to not do that. If the experienced people in the team have actually created the article then at least we know it is in their contributions and so they can steward the article towards improvement. e.g. 1. the day after the event, they might go back to the article and tidy it up, 2. if the article gets tagged for deletion, they are better able to discuss it and improve it, whereas a new user may feel bitten.
==The Water Cooler has been split==
[[User:Yaris678|Yaris678]] ([[User talk:Yaris678|talk]]) 14:44, 25 September 2017 (BST)
I've now gone through the process of moving threads regarding WMUK operational matters to the newly created [[Engine room]], while keeping threads around our activities and getting involved on this page. This will be our first attempt at creating different spaces for different types of discussion, and we're still working on the headers for these pages (the divs now inserted at the top of the page). If you watch the [[Water cooler]] you may also want to add the [[Engine room]] to your watch list. I've also moved the [[Water cooler]] up to the "get involved" section on the sidebar. The new [[Engine room]] can be found under 'organisation' on the sidebar. If you think I've incorrectly moved something, or have a suggestion for how we should define and describe these places do let us know (ideally [[Engine room#Getting us started|here]] in the Engine room). Finally, I look forward to seeing people engage on both pages. Cheers [[User:Sjgknight|Sjgknight]] ([[User talk:Sjgknight|talk]]) 21:27, 20 December 2013 (UTC)
:The title of the section "[[Engine room#Archiving this page|Archiving this page]]" suggests it should have stayed here. I've added a note in that section, querying whether it applies there also. <span class="vcard"><span class="fn">[[User:Pigsonthewing|Andy Mabbett]]</span> (User:<span class="nickname">Pigsonthewing</span>); [[User talk:Pigsonthewing|Andy's talk]]; [[Special:Contributions/Pigsonthewing|Andy's edits]]</span> 15:10, 21 December 2013 (UTC)
:::Thanks for adding the move notices Andy, very helpful. I think the thread you refer to above does still apply to the [[Engine room]], and there would probably be the place to raise such issues in the future too. I guess in this transition period there will be some such posts which are slightly out of context where they would not be had they originated on the [[Engine room]]. If there are any threads you think really don't work moved across let me know (and I'll keep an eye out too) but I don't think that's the case at the moment (copying this note (edited) to both pages) [[User:Sjgknight|Sjgknight]] ([[User talk:Sjgknight|talk]]) 15:52, 21 December 2013 (UTC)
== Invitation to Chapters and Photographers for the European Parliament Project 2014 ==
:Obvious question, where do we find data on how many non-autoconfirmed users and IPs actually make pages that satisfy Wiki Criteria? [[Special:Contributions/82.132.237.141|82.132.237.141]] 15:31, 26 September 2017 (BST)
::[[:meta:Wikipedia:New pages patrol/Analysis and proposal|According to WMF research]], of the 1,180 articles created every day on the English Wikipedia, about 7% are by non-autoconfirmed editors. [[User:Richard Nevell (WMUK)|Richard Nevell (WMUK)]] ([[User talk:Richard Nevell (WMUK)|talk]]) 16:55, 2 October 2017 (BST)
:Thanks for your input Yaris678. Working in Draft: or User: space is probably going to be integral to dealing with this. I've not used Draft: much myself, but I'm keen on getting people to use their sandbox to prepare material and then copy it over. It does mean a chunk of the pages people work on aren't copied over the to the mainspace but that's a reasonable trade-off. [[User:Richard Nevell (WMUK)|Richard Nevell (WMUK)]] ([[User talk:Richard Nevell (WMUK)|talk]]) 16:59, 2 October 2017 (BST)
Hello everyone, please see the below information regarding a [https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Commons:Wikipedians_in_European_Parliament new project on Commons] that's looking to help photograph and record members of the European Parliament. The group working on the project are looking for volunteers to help out with this piece of work and Wikimedia UK will consider providing funding for someone to go and help out. I've copied the below directly from the message originally circulated about the project so that those interested can get full details and context. Wikimedia UK also has equipment that we can loan for use on the project, including camera, lights, lenses and a sound recorder. Please comment below if you're interested, or feel free to email me directly. Thank you. [[User:Stevie Benton (WMUK)|Stevie Benton (WMUK)]] ([[User talk:Stevie Benton (WMUK)|talk]]) 11:56, 3 January 2014 (UTC)
:The [[#Training from the back of the room]] sounds like a really interesting idea, I'm interested in this kind of collaborative/peer learning process. Sadly for the bulk of editathons I manage, this wouldn't be applicable, as I'm generally working with a whole bundle new users, trying to advocated for further use in their organisations. [[User:Lirazelf|Lirazelf]] ([[User talk:Lirazelf|talk]]) 14:07, 3 October 2017 (BST)
::Thanks Lirazelf. I guess you'll have to rely on the first four bullets - especially the draft namespace. I think it would be useful to have a non-new user move the drafts across. Preferably during the training session, so people can see their work "live" on Wikipedia, which will create excitement. Ideally, well before the end of the training so that people can continue to edit their articles in main space - seeing that this is a normal thing to do is important.
::I fringe benefit of this approach is that each article edited will be in the contributions list of at least one non-new user. That way, they can "steward" the article to a certain extent. This will be particularly important if the article is nominated for deletion - having someone who knows the ropes will help to get the article in a position to keep - and help to argue that it should be kept. But more generally it will be useful, to keep the article quality up.
::[[User:Yaris678|Yaris678]] ([[User talk:Yaris678|talk]]) 12:59, 19 October 2017 (BST)
=== Preamble ===
==Wiki Loves Monuments UK 2017 awards announced==
Some might have heard about the State Parliament Projects done in Germany and Austria since 2009:
[[File:The Derelict West Pier of Brighton.jpg|thumb|1st prize: The derelict West Pier in Brighton, by Matthew Hoser]]
A bunch of Wikipedians and photographers meet politicians in the parliament, shoot professional photos, discuss their Wikipedia articles etc. This way hundreds of free licensed, high quality images have been
I am very pleased to be able to announce the 2017 award winners for Wiki Loves Monuments in the UK.
made, Wikipedia articles have been improved. In the latest project at Schwerin (Mecklenburg-Vorpommern) we added videos, politicians give a short introduction about themselves, their position and political focus in German and in their mother tongue if different from German. About 20 photographers were able to participate and processes how to work with the parliament's administration, how to interact with the politicians, how to efficiently take a lot of photos in a short time and with good quality have been established.
=== Next Level: European Parliament ===
First place goes to '''Matthew Hoser''' for his image of the derelict West Pier in Brighton.
Now we would like to take this to next level: After contacting the European Parliament I was able to get their approval, the support by the parties and a date! Unfortunately the date is already in February, 3rd to 7th, as we have to use the short time gap between budget deliberations and elections. MEPs only travel to the EP when deliberations are ongoing but then they are also busy with meetings, as soon as the election preperation starts there won't be any time for our project within the next 6 months. Anyway I am sure we can do that - the elections are also a great opportunity to raise awareness on our material we have in Wikipedia and on Commons. It is also an excellent opportunity to bring together volunteers in doing our core work together, maybe we can transfer the idea of Parliament Projects to other countries. Volunteers get the opportunity to learn from each other - the EP is a very challenging project, having more than 700 MEPs to be handled within a few days. And Wikipedia may improve its articles, also by bringing together volunteers from different EU countries. Many MEPs have their articles only in a few of the European languages, some not even in their native language!
=== Your Chapter Involved ===
In second place was '''Paul Stümke''', who captured the Glenfinnan Viaduct at Loch Shiel.
We are looking forward to get volunteers from as many countries as possible involved in this project. In order to be handle it we need approx. 35 people to help. Obviously the german and austrian photographers are already waiting for it, from past projects they already know what will go on. But there is much more to it: We want your volunteers! Imagine a project where we could bring together volunteers from all 24 language communities in the EU - that is what we are trying!
Therefore we ask you for a favour:
Third was '''Oliver Tookey''' for the De La Warr Pavilion in Bexhill on Sea.
* please forward this invitation to your local community - you can point them to our project page on Wikimedia Commons:
* does your chapter provide travel support for those volunteers in your country who want to participate? Please do so. Your chapter pays for the transportation to / from Strasbourg and the accommodation (around 300 EUR per person for all 6 nights), we take care of the rest (transportation hotel - EP, catering etc.)
The special prize for the best image taken in Scotland was awarded to '''Keith Proven''' for Smailholm Tower.
* we would like to supply the volunteers with t-shirts or hoodies with Wikipedia logo or similar - for a unified appearance and to make them visible as volunteers and Wikimedians. Is your chapter (or the WMF?)
You can see all of these images, and the other stunning pictures that were awarded Highly Commended status [[Commons:Wiki_Loves_Monuments_2017_in_the_United_Kingdom/Winners|at Wikimedia Commons]].
interested in providing 90 shirts / hoodies? (We planned 2 pc. per person as they will be worn almost one week.)
* everyone who likes this project: state your support on the talk page of our grant request to the WMF which should cover the general costs of the project. By this grant request we make sure that each chapter only has to handle local support and can stay within it's budgeted limits and area of operation.
Many congratulations to all of our prizewinners, and thanks to all who volunteered to help make the contest a success: contestants, judges, reviewers and Wikimedians in many roles. Thanks also for the kind support we received from the International team, from our friendly staff at Wikimedia UK, and from our 2017 prize sponsors, Wikimedia UK and Archaeology Scotland. [[User:MichaelMaggs|MichaelMaggs]] ([[User talk:MichaelMaggs|talk]]) 07:43, 31 October 2017 (GMT)
Could we encourage volunteers to first think of uploading public domain/copyright free available media published by institutions such as the [http://www.europarl.org.uk/ European Parliament Information Office in the United Kingdom], and to check if there are other media packs available to release on request from their off-line archives, before making plans to create amateur new media? My experience with uploading over [[Commons:Category:Images from norden.org uploaded by Fæ|5,000 photographs relating to politicians from the Nordic Region]] was that this provided a plentiful supply of top quality photographs to illustrate Wikipedias in several languages. These photographs cost nothing in travel or equipment and so initial projects of this type are likely to be of incredibly high "bang for the buck" in terms of using the charity's funds.
If anyone finds such an archive with several hundred or more media files, and would like my help in a month or two with a mass upload, I would be happy to help out by making this part of my 2014 Faebot batch upload projects as well as claiming this as a success under the European Parliament Project umbrella. Thanks --[[User:Fæ|Fæ]] ([[User talk:Fæ|talk]]) 17:58, 3 January 2014 (UTC)
Looks like BT wants to push more people to faster internet where it has fiber: https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-bt-group-broadband/bt-incentivises-operators-to-move-customers-to-faster-broadband-idUKKBN1KE0LR
== Scholarship to attend Learning Day and EduWiki Conference 2014 in Serbia ==
Is someone monitoring the trend of average internet speed and the impact it has on user activity in the Wikimedia projects? [[User:Nemo bis|Nemo bis]] ([[User talk:Nemo bis|talk]]) 08:43, 24 July 2018 (BST)
[[File:NoviBG Nov30 2005.jpg |thumb]]
To keep the conversation together and make it easier to link to the call and discussion in the future, use the [[Talk:Wikimedia Serbia EduWiki Conference 2014 Scholarship]] page there.
Call content '''''transcluded''''':
{{:Wikimedia Serbia EduWiki Conference 2014 Scholarship}}
==The Water cooler needs to look prettier==
::Hi [[User:Nemo bis|Nemo bis]], I'm not sure that our small charity has the capacity to do something like this, or how it might benefit us. You are welcome to expand on why you think this would be a good idea if you like. [[User:John Lubbock (WMUK)|John Lubbock (WMUK)]] ([[User talk:John Lubbock (WMUK)|talk]]) 12:29, 2 April 2019 (BST)
We need a nice Water cooler picture to go on the top of this page. Can we get some suggestions going? We could post ideas here in a gallery. -[[User:MichaelMaggs|MichaelMaggs]] ([[User talk:MichaelMaggs|talk]]) 17:55, 6 January 2014 (UTC)
[[File:BurneyFalls.jpg|thumb]]
: It's somewhat worrying that the WMUK Chief Exec has enough spare time to add pictures to nearly every section of this page! I'm sure there's much better things to be getting on with... :-( (Plus, they get in the way of leaving comments!) Thanks. [[User:Mike Peel|Mike Peel]] ([[User talk:Mike Peel|talk]]) 07:15, 8 January 2014 (UTC)
: I appreciate Mike's viewpoint. This is a discussion page, and unless the thread is directly connected to a particular image it is not normal on wikis to illustrate each thread as if they were a blog posts. MichaelMaggs' suggestion to put a photo at the top of the page is more in line with the way we see village pumps working on other projects. Although bandwidth is unlikely to me a massive problem for most readers or contributors, several photographs on a long page may discourage readers from accessing using mobile devices and could make the page unreadable or subject to time-outs if they are relying on a lower speed mobile connection. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think wiki thumb transclusions like this actually mean that most browsers will download the full size image file before rendering this page, so these images do add significantly to bandwidth and rendering times.
: I am sure now Jon has been CE for 3 years, as per the lead item of the member's newsletter, he does not advice with regard to the norms of wikis. --[[User:Fæ|Fæ]] ([[User talk:Fæ|talk]]) 07:32, 8 January 2014 (UTC)
:: On the technical point, the images are automatically resized by MediaWiki - there's no downloading the full images. Thanks. [[User:Mike Peel|Mike Peel]] ([[User talk:Mike Peel|talk]]) 08:13, 8 January 2014 (UTC)
:::I’m inclined to think that where there are obvious images it's no bad thing to include them just as we add images to Wikipedia articles (or indeed blog posts). It makes the page more attractive and is minimal work particularly given the images can be used on the pages/events/activities they refer to, if it was lots of extra work certainly that woudld be bad. Given the markup goes at the top of the sections I'm not convinced it gets in the way of leaving comments(?), useful to consider if there are other problems though? Incidentally this discussion should really be moved to the [[Engine room]] (i.e. I think the whole discussion around the water cooler image should be there). [[User:Sjgknight|Sjgknight]] ([[User talk:Sjgknight|talk]]) 08:30, 8 January 2014 (UTC)
:::: My comment about it getting in the way was because the image here is after the first comment, so my comment was straight after it which was a bit confusing to me. Thanks. [[User:Mike Peel|Mike Peel]] ([[User talk:Mike Peel|talk]]) 08:46, 8 January 2014 (UTC)
:::::Ah fair enough, yes I agree that's to be avoided where possible (particularly given it'd be good to have noobs posting on the water cooler!). I think this is the only one on here though. [[User:Sjgknight|Sjgknight]] ([[User talk:Sjgknight|talk]]) 08:48, 8 January 2014 (UTC)
::Mike don't worry it only took a few minutes of time in gaps doing other things. As to the images I am really happy to take tech advice - we don't want people to be put off by download times. On the other hand we need our watercooler to be a busy and buzzing place that is attractive to come to. The thumbnails draw attention to the different subjects and when new things come up help draw attention to them. Our website is sooooooooooooooo boring. If it is to be a way of encouraging new volunteers (and members) it has to be a lot better and this is one tiny step to drag it into the 21st century. [[User:Jon Davies (WMUK)|Jon Davies (WMUK)]] ([[User talk:Jon Davies (WMUK)|talk]]) 08:43, 8 January 2014 (UTC)
Latest revision as of 19:35, 13 August 2022
Welcome to the water cooler
This is a place to find out what is happening and to discuss our external projects and activities. Feel free to suggest ideas that could help our charitable mission or ask questions about how you can help. To discuss the inner workings of the charity, head over to the engine room.
WMUK Grants programme - a piece of cake?
Applying for a grant is easy.
If Wikimedia UK can help you improve Wikimedia projects, check out our grants page.
A kanban board at the Women in Classical Studies editathon at Senate House, London
I just saw the newsletter with a picture of the kanban board used at the Women in Classical Studies editathon. What a great idea! It helps people share what they are working on. Helps to avoid edit conflicts. Enables organisers to list all the articles that have been improved. It could possibly work well for a recap session at the end too, where people talk about the changes they made.
Who was involved with that editathon? Who has used it elsewhere? I would love to hear how it has been used in practice.
Cool. So how did you use it? Did you get people to brainstorm a load of post-its of articles to look at, at the beginning of the day? Did you just say 'if you have an idea, stick it on the board'? Did you come with the post-its filled out already? Yaris678 (talk) 10:25, 11 February 2017 (GMT)
The group were quite well prepared prior to the editathon. They had identified a number of articles to create - some had already done the research and started to writing in their sandbox. When we began the second part of the editathon they each committed to an article, wrote it on a sticky note and stuck it to the wall! Moving the notes from left to right was surprisingly motivating and a good excuse to stretch ones legs. Also used the sticky notes for an evaluation exercise at the end of the session. Eartha78 (talk) 18:27, 16 February 2017 (GMT)
Thank you Eartha78. That is really interesting. I will use this next time I do an editathon. Yaris678 (talk) 09:39, 19 February 2017 (GMT)
Wikimedia UK's plans for 2018 - community consultation
Watch our video about our plans for 2018
Wikimedia UK is in the process of writing our proposal to the Wikimedia Foundation for funding during 2018/19. The deadline for the bid is 1st October after which it is assessed by staff at the Foundation, there is an opportunity for community feedback and questions, and the Funds Dissemination Committee (FDC) meet to consider proposals and make recommendations about grants.
As 2018/19 is the final year of our 2016 - 2019 strategy, our programme for next year is in many ways a continuation of our activities in 2017 and falls under three key strands:
Diverse content and contributors
Promoting open knowledge
Education and Learning
These strands are directly related to our three strategic goals, which are to:
Increase the quality and quantity of coverage of subjects that are currently underrepresented on Wikipedia and the other Wikimedia projects
Contribute to the development of open knowledge in the UK, by increasing understanding and recognition of the value of open knowledge and advocating for change at an organisational, sectoral and public policy level
Support the use of the Wikimedia projects as important tools for education and learning in the UK
We would welcome input from the UK community into our plans for next year - which we are still shaping - and have created a short video to highlight our programme strands which you can watch here. You can give us feedback on our programme anytime, but if you’d like your views to be taken into account in our submission to the Wikimedia Foundation for funding, please do comment below by Friday 29th September. If you’d prefer to get in touch by email, feel free to contact me on lucy.crompton-reid@wikimedia.org.uk.
There are several questions in particular that I’d like to ask:
Is there anything that Wikimedia UK should be doing more of, or new activities that we should consider, in 2018/19?
What work would you like to see us continue?
Is there anything you think we should do less of or stop doing?
How would you like to be involved in Wikimedia UK’s programme next year?
This doesn't change the fact that it is worth asking people to create an account in advance (and to remember their password!)
We have to expect that some people won't create an account and most of those who have won't be auto-confirmed - this is OK.
If there are admins present at the event, they can make new users confirmed.... although I wouldn't stress over it - there is no harm in the Draft: name space.
All the above is less of an issue if we take the approach of #Training from the back of the room described above. If the group is split into teams that are deliberately set to have the full spread of ability, we can encourage people to help other team members, including the following:
Middle-ability people to show the people with no account how to create an account.
Experienced editors to help newer editors to find a page that might need editing.
Experienced editors to create pages that other team members are interested in editing.
You could even get admins to confirm accounts of non-confirmed people in their team, but it might actually be better to not do that. If the experienced people in the team have actually created the article then at least we know it is in their contributions and so they can steward the article towards improvement. e.g. 1. the day after the event, they might go back to the article and tidy it up, 2. if the article gets tagged for deletion, they are better able to discuss it and improve it, whereas a new user may feel bitten.
Obvious question, where do we find data on how many non-autoconfirmed users and IPs actually make pages that satisfy Wiki Criteria? 82.132.237.141 15:31, 26 September 2017 (BST)
Thanks for your input Yaris678. Working in Draft: or User: space is probably going to be integral to dealing with this. I've not used Draft: much myself, but I'm keen on getting people to use their sandbox to prepare material and then copy it over. It does mean a chunk of the pages people work on aren't copied over the to the mainspace but that's a reasonable trade-off. Richard Nevell (WMUK) (talk) 16:59, 2 October 2017 (BST)
The #Training from the back of the room sounds like a really interesting idea, I'm interested in this kind of collaborative/peer learning process. Sadly for the bulk of editathons I manage, this wouldn't be applicable, as I'm generally working with a whole bundle new users, trying to advocated for further use in their organisations. Lirazelf (talk) 14:07, 3 October 2017 (BST)
Thanks Lirazelf. I guess you'll have to rely on the first four bullets - especially the draft namespace. I think it would be useful to have a non-new user move the drafts across. Preferably during the training session, so people can see their work "live" on Wikipedia, which will create excitement. Ideally, well before the end of the training so that people can continue to edit their articles in main space - seeing that this is a normal thing to do is important.
I fringe benefit of this approach is that each article edited will be in the contributions list of at least one non-new user. That way, they can "steward" the article to a certain extent. This will be particularly important if the article is nominated for deletion - having someone who knows the ropes will help to get the article in a position to keep - and help to argue that it should be kept. But more generally it will be useful, to keep the article quality up.
1st prize: The derelict West Pier in Brighton, by Matthew Hoser
I am very pleased to be able to announce the 2017 award winners for Wiki Loves Monuments in the UK.
First place goes to Matthew Hoser for his image of the derelict West Pier in Brighton.
In second place was Paul Stümke, who captured the Glenfinnan Viaduct at Loch Shiel.
Third was Oliver Tookey for the De La Warr Pavilion in Bexhill on Sea.
The special prize for the best image taken in Scotland was awarded to Keith Proven for Smailholm Tower.
The special prize for the best image taken in Wales went to Sterim64 for Craig-y-mor.
You can see all of these images, and the other stunning pictures that were awarded Highly Commended status at Wikimedia Commons.
Many congratulations to all of our prizewinners, and thanks to all who volunteered to help make the contest a success: contestants, judges, reviewers and Wikimedians in many roles. Thanks also for the kind support we received from the International team, from our friendly staff at Wikimedia UK, and from our 2017 prize sponsors, Wikimedia UK and Archaeology Scotland. MichaelMaggs (talk) 07:43, 31 October 2017 (GMT)
Is someone monitoring the trend of average internet speed and the impact it has on user activity in the Wikimedia projects? Nemo bis (talk) 08:43, 24 July 2018 (BST)
Hi Nemo bis, I'm not sure that our small charity has the capacity to do something like this, or how it might benefit us. You are welcome to expand on why you think this would be a good idea if you like. John Lubbock (WMUK) (talk) 12:29, 2 April 2019 (BST)
