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I was doing a bit of curation on the wiki, and noticed that we don't have the templates <nowiki> {{Discussion top}} and
{{Discussion bottom}}</nowiki> here. It would be great if they could be added. --[[User:MichaelMaggs|MichaelMaggs]] ([[User talk:MichaelMaggs|talk]]) 09:06, 23 July 2013 (UTC)
It works. [[User:Richard Nevell (WMUK)|Richard Nevell (WMUK)]] ([[User talk:Richard Nevell (WMUK)|talk]]) 10:08, 23 July 2013 (UTC)
[[File:WCCWiki4.jpg|thumb|A {{wp|kanban board}} at the Women in Classical Studies editathon at Senate House, London]]
:Thank you Katie. --[[User:MichaelMaggs|MichaelMaggs]] ([[User talk:MichaelMaggs|talk]]) 22:56, 23 July 2013 (UTC)
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.
== Instant bot to reverse editor decline ==
Who was involved with that editathon? Who has used it elsewhere? I would love to hear how it has been used in practice.
The best ideas sometimes come in strange ways and I thought I'd share this one just in case someone thought it was possible. At our staff training day yesterday a few of us pointed out that we started editing when we saw terrible spelling mistakes but that this is not a big feature of Wikipedia nowadays. So how about a bot that inserts annoying and prominent spelling mistakes to help encourage new editors? ;) [[User:Jon Davies (WMUK)|Jon Davies (WMUK)]] ([[User talk:Jon Davies (WMUK)|talk]]) 07:33, 27 July 2013 (UTC)
[[User:Yaris678|Yaris678]] ([[User talk:Yaris678|talk]]) 15:09, 3 February 2017 (GMT)
:What? <i><b>[[User:Snowolf|<font color = "darkmagenta">Snowolf</font>]] <sup><small>[[m:User:Snowolf|<font color = "darkmagenta">How can I help?</font>]]</small></sup></b></i> 10:47, 28 July 2013 (UTC)
:Probably a suggestion to hold on to until the morning of April 1, 2014. :-) [[Special:Contributions/86.181.47.13|86.181.47.13]] 10:51, 28 July 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)
I've found two typos in [[Membership/Newsletter/2013/July#Review: Sphingonet Wikipedia workshop]]. There's an "of" that should be an "or" in the second-to-last paragraph and a "not" that should be a "now" in the last paragraph. [[User:Yaris678|Yaris678]] ([[User talk:Yaris678|talk]]) 11:30, 28 July 2013 (UTC)
::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)
::Thanks Katie. [[User:Yaris678|Yaris678]] ([[User talk:Yaris678|talk]]) 15:50, 29 July 2013 (UTC)
Actually Katie. I've just read your piece [[Membership/Newsletter/2013/July#Opinion: Where are the women in Wikipedia?]]. Great piece. But there are a few typos in there too:
*Paragraph 3 - "Wikiboks", should be "Wikibooks".
*Paragraph 5 - "compare", should be "compared" or "in comparison"
*Paragraph 5 - "reason" should be "reasons"
*Paragraph 10 - "bias that exist" should be "biases that exist" or "bias that exists"
*Paragraph 10 - With "an underrepresented topics", drop the "an" or make "topic" singular.
[[User:Yaris678|Yaris678]] ([[User talk:Yaris678|talk]]) 16:32, 29 July 2013 (UTC)
:::Thanks for doing the fixes Katie. I have to say, it feels kind of rude to point them out. Any chance that I could be made an admin on this wiki? (Or some other way to give me the edit-protected right.) That way I can just quietly make such changes myself. [[User:Yaris678|Yaris678]] ([[User talk:Yaris678|talk]]) 15:44, 30 July 2013 (UTC)
::::Making you an admin sounds sensible to me (I'll vouch for you, for whatever it's worth). Somebody (Katie?) could also give you access to the internal wiki where the newsletter is drafted. [[User:HJ Mitchell|<font color="Teal" face="Tahoma">'''Harry Mitchell'''</font>]] | [[User talk:HJ Mitchell|<font color="Navy" face= "Times New Roman">Penny for your thoughts? </font>]] 18:09, 30 July 2013 (UTC)
:::::Thanks Harry. Do I need to apply somewhere or should I just wait for the cogs to turn? [[User:Yaris678|Yaris678]] ([[User talk:Yaris678|talk]]) 08:10, 31 July 2013 (UTC)
::::::There's no formal application process, just asking one of the staff works fine as we all have 'crat tools and we can sort out accounts on the internal wiki. In this case, asking on the water cooler works too as it's a high profile page. [[User:Richard Nevell (WMUK)|Richard Nevell (WMUK)]] ([[User talk:Richard Nevell (WMUK)|talk]]) 09:21, 31 July 2013 (UTC)
::::::[[File:Zahnrad.gif]]
::::::: Actually, there is an agreed process for this - as per [[Wikimedia:Administrators]], "certain trusted users are also be made Administrators if they apply to the Board and are approved." That policy's been there [[Meetings/2009-04-26#Wiki_user_rights|since before 2009]]... Thanks. [[User:Mike Peel|Mike Peel]] ([[User talk:Mike Peel|talk]]) 10:40, 31 July 2013 (UTC)
::::::::I stand corrected. [[User:Richard Nevell (WMUK)|Richard Nevell (WMUK)]] ([[User talk:Richard Nevell (WMUK)|talk]]) 10:48, 31 July 2013 (UTC)
:::::::::I promise I won't be offended if someone takes the admin bit back off me until the board have had a chance to consider my case. [[User:Yaris678|Yaris678]] ([[User talk:Yaris678|talk]]) 12:21, 31 July 2013 (UTC)
(unindent) To be fair, there are several people (myself included) that have been given admin rights by staff, so you're not the only one following the policy. I have updated [[Administrators]] to give both the policy, and the current actual practice. Given the volunteer-driven nature of the charity, it seems a bit backwards to make you have to seek board approval for adminship rights, especially since there's more pertinent matters for them to be focussing on. But I'm not a board member, so what do I know? ;-) --[[User:Deskana|Deskana]] [[User talk:Deskana|(talk)]] [[Special:Emailuser/Deskana|(email)]] 13:56, 31 July 2013 (UTC)
:This is basically a hangover from 2009 when the board did all the work - so the admin rights on the wiki was an important thing. I'll raise it for discussion at the next board meeting, but we can probably just delegate this to the Chief Executive if the board agree. [[User:Richard Symonds (WMUK)|Richard Symonds (WMUK)]] ([[User talk:Richard Symonds (WMUK)|talk]]) 14:05, 31 July 2013 (UTC)
::Why not just delegate it to anybody who has the 'crat bit and five minutes? It's not as if there's much damage that can be done with admin tools on a wiki like this. But then I'm not nearly important enough to make that sort of decision! ;) [[User:HJ Mitchell|<font color="Teal" face="Tahoma">'''Harry Mitchell'''</font>]] | [[User talk:HJ Mitchell|<font color="Navy" face= "Times New Roman">Penny for your thoughts? </font>]] 16:19, 31 July 2013 (UTC)
== Wikimedia UK office experiencing email problems ==
::: 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)
{{discussion top}}
Hello everyone, just a quick note to let you know that Wikimedia UK's office is experiencing some email problems at the moment. No new emails are being received. We'll keep you updated but for any urgent matters please call 020 7065 0990. Many thanks. [[User:Stevie Benton (WMUK)|Stevie Benton (WMUK)]] ([[User talk:Stevie Benton (WMUK)|talk]]) 10:19, 29 July 2013 (UTC)
:Hello again. The situation hasn't changed from this morning. The office still isn't receiving incoming email and we don't have a timetable for when the situation might be resolved. For the time being, if you need to communicate with the office please do ring on 020 7065 0990. Thank you. [[User:Stevie Benton (WMUK)|Stevie Benton (WMUK)]] ([[User talk:Stevie Benton (WMUK)|talk]]) 14:57, 29 July 2013 (UTC)
::It seems like this is now back to normal. Can someone else at the office confirm this, please? --[[User:Toni Sant (WMUK)|Toni Sant (WMUK)]] ([[User talk:Toni Sant (WMUK)|talk]]) 08:52, 30 July 2013 (UTC)
:::Toni's right, the emails are working now. [[User:Richard Nevell (WMUK)|Richard Nevell (WMUK)]] ([[User talk:Richard Nevell (WMUK)|talk]]) 09:20, 30 July 2013 (UTC)
{{discussion bottom}}
== Wikimania 2014 & Wikivoyage ==
::::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)
I know that Wikimania 2014 isn't technically a WMUK project but this seemed a good place to bring it up: With the event happening in London, it would make sense for the London Wikivoyage pages to be improved for the benefit of all the visiting Wikimedians. We have a Wikimedia travel guide; it would be good to use it. While adding a listing to [[voy:en:London/City of London]], home of the Barbican, I noticed that the page status of many London districts can be quite low. The City is at guide status but most are just at usable status and only [[voy:en:London/Hampstead]] is star status (the scale goes stub-->outline-->usable-->guide-->star). This is within the chapter's sphere of responsibility but I don't know if this is something the chapter could/would be involved with, or just UK Wikimedians doing bits (I'm going to continue editing but I don't really know enough about the city to cover everything). - [[User:AdamBMorgan|AdamBMorgan]] ([[User talk:AdamBMorgan|talk]]) 14:37, 29 July 2013 (UTC)
== Wikimedia UK's plans for 2018 - community consultation ==
:Hi Adam, thanks for your suggestion, which I think is a good one. You're correct that Wikimania itself isn't a Wikimedia UK project but it would make sense for us to try and encourage improvement of WikiVoyage content related to London - and in as many languages as we can, too. Do you have any suggestions on how to do this? If you;d like to deliver / promote a project around this then I'd be more than happy to lend my support and get involved in helping out on this - both as a staff member and as a volunteer :-) [[User:Stevie Benton (WMUK)|Stevie Benton (WMUK)]] ([[User talk:Stevie Benton (WMUK)|talk]]) 14:56, 29 July 2013 (UTC)
[[File:Programmes Consultation Video - Wikimedia UK.webm|centre|thumb|800x800px|Watch our video about our plans for 2018]]
::I'm wondering whether this would be a good way to introduce (secondary/high) school children to wiki editing. We have been discussing possible ways to involve school children over the coming year and this may indeed be a relatively useful and certainly interesting way of doing it. --[[User:Toni Sant (WMUK)|Toni Sant (WMUK)]] ([[User talk:Toni Sant (WMUK)|talk]]) 08:51, 30 July 2013 (UTC)
:::RE: "Do you have any suggestions" -- to be honest, no, not at the moment. At least, I'm not sure how best to do it. I should probably have waited to bring it up at the meet up in August, so I could discuss it a bit first. On the bright side, Wikivoyage is probably the easiest Wikimedia project on which to make micro-contributions. The majority of a standard guide article is made up of template-formatted bullet points, under standard verb-based headings (ie. "See", "Buy", "Eat", etc) which use templates of the same name (ie. <nowiki>{{buy}}, {{eat}}, etc</nowiki>). On top of which, a contribution could be just adding a good local restaurant. - [[User:AdamBMorgan|AdamBMorgan]] ([[User talk:AdamBMorgan|talk]]) 16:41, 30 July 2013 (UTC)
:::Also, be careful about wanting to introduce secondary/high school students to Wikipedia editing. There have already been a lot of rumblings on English Wikipedia about the need for better child protection policies. WMUK may need to look into the logistics of that with DBS (formerly CRB) checking for volunteers and so on. DBS checking is apparently now free for volunteers. I'm happy to have a DBS check done, as I've been happy to disclose my identity documents to the WMF. —[[User:Tom Morris|Tom Morris]] ([[User talk:Tom Morris|talk]]) 10:51, 14 August 2013 (UTC)
:It'd also be great if people could help improve London on OpenStreetMap. I do my part in making sure that certain drinking establishments are kept up-to-date, but there's a lot of other things in London that need improving! —[[User:Tom Morris|Tom Morris]] ([[User talk:Tom Morris|talk]]) 10:43, 14 August 2013 (UTC)
== Open Government Partnership annual summit call for proposals ==
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.
Hello everyone. The Open Government Partnership is hosting its [http://www.opengovpartnership.org/open-government-partnership-annual-summit-%E2%80%93-call-proposals annual summit] on 31 October and 1 November. This could be a good opportunity to build networks in this area and find ways that we can demonstrate the value of Wikimedia projects. We may be able to find ways to influence thinking around open knowledge and how this can fit in with public policy. They have issued a call for proposals which has a deadline of 1 September. I wonder if this is of interest to anybody and, if so, this is a good place to discuss some ideas. Many thanks. [[User:Stevie Benton (WMUK)|Stevie Benton (WMUK)]] ([[User talk:Stevie Benton (WMUK)|talk]]) 13:10, 31 July 2013 (UTC)
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:
== Student societies 2013 campaign ==
# Diverse content and contributors
# Promoting open knowledge
# Education and Learning
Wikimedia UK is keen to support [[student societies]] towards a better understanding and improvement of Wikipedia and its sister projects. We are currently looking for a volunteer to help me develop a strategic plan we've drafted for reaching out to university student unions across the UK. This work relates to WMUK's developing efforts to support Student Societies focused on editing Wikipedia and other Wikimedia projects; it essentially involves an intensive period of concentrated effort to reach out to potential new student societies. Details available [[Student_societies_2013_campaign_volunteer|here]]. --[[User:Toni Sant (WMUK)|Toni Sant (WMUK)]] ([[User talk:Toni Sant (WMUK)|talk]]) 16:53, 5 August 2013 (UTC)
These strands are directly related to our three strategic goals, which are to:
== 'Illustrating Wikipedia brochure' - your thoughts? ==
* 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.
Hi All, a new brochure about Wikimedia Commons has been produced. Designed to be a companion brochure to the Welcome to Wikipedia brochure, it covers what Commons is, how to upload files, how to use files, and the basics of free licenses - [[:File:Illustrating Wikipedia brochure.pdf]]. We would like to have a version printed in the UK as well. What are your thoughts on the content? Do you think we already have a brochure that does the job better?
There are several questions in particular that I’d like to ask:
Do let Stevie know (stevie.benton{{@}}wikimedia.org.uk or comment here) - we may even manage to get it ready for Wiki Loves Monuments in September!
* 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?
== Supporting the UK's first Wiki Loves Monuments competition ==
== ACTRIAL and new users creating new pages at events ==
Hi all,
Hi All,
For those who haven't been following [[Commons:Commons:Wiki Loves Monuments 2013 in the United Kingdom|organizational progress]] of the WLM competition to date, we have a small group of dedicated volunteers and staff who are working hard to ensure that the UK's first contribution to [http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/records-6000/largest-photography-competition the world's largest photographic competition] goes without a hitch. We have a nice [http://www.wikilovesmonuments.org.uk/ competition website] to attract competitors (many of whom will not be Wiki savvy, and will be new contributors & editors). We are expecting this to be quite a big deal, and the staff at [[:WMUK:Wikimedia UK|Wikimedia UK]] have been busy making arrangement for publicity as well as helping out with the lists. We hope to get press notices and image spreads in the Metro, which publishes in Bath, Birmingham, Brighton, Bristol, Cardiff, Derby, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leeds, Leicester, Liverpool, London, Manchester, Nottingham, Newcastle and Sheffield, as well as in The Times (thanks Stevie). The high-profile nature of the competition has been strengthened by the agreement of Steve Cole ABIPP, Head of Photography at [http://www.english-heritage.org.uk English Heritage], to join the national judging panel (jury) (thanks Richard N.)
Some thoughts on {{wp|WP:ACTRIAL}} and our events:
*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 WLM volunteers will do everything they can to make sure the English, Scottish, Welsh and Northern Ireland lists are in a good state before the start of the national and international competitions - September 1st is just three weeks away now. We are all very aware that the deadline is looming, and that a quite a lot of work still remains to be done. Everyone is working as fast as they can and due to the rapidly approaching deadline it appears that unfortunately a few errors have slipped through. Really, we need more people to help out. There is a particular need for editors who are experienced with bots or scripts to pitch in ''now'', not only to help fix some of the errors, but also to help put up the remainder of the listed building data using the standard WLM templates. If you can help in any way, please make yourself known to the WLM team, either via my talk page, or by adding your name to [[Commons:Commons:Wiki Loves Monuments 2013 in the United Kingdom/People|the helpers' page on Commons]]. If you can actively help now, you should also, please, sign up to the [http://lists.wikimedia.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/wlm2013-l Wiki Loves Monuments UK mailing list], where you can obtain detailed information. You can see the current status of the data uploads by going to the [[Commons:Wiki Loves Monuments 2013 in the United Kingdom/planning/lists|Progress lists for Wikipedians]]; you can see there, for example, that we still need someone to deal with the uploading of almost all of the Scottish data. We can provide structured lists of data for those who can help with this.
[[User:Yaris678|Yaris678]] ([[User talk:Yaris678|talk]]) 14:44, 25 September 2017 (BST)
If you can't help with bot work, but are able to contribute by tidying up or correcting the WP lists for your area, that would still be very much appreciated. You can get to the lists by going via one of the following links:
: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)
* [[:w:en:Listed buildings in Scotland|Listed buildings in Scotland]]
: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)
* [[:w:en:Listed buildings in England|Listed buildings in Wales]]
::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.
* [[:w:en:Listed buildings in England|Listed buildings in England]]
::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.
* [[:w:en:Listed buildings in Northern Ireland|Listed buildings in Northern Ireland]]
::[[User:Yaris678|Yaris678]] ([[User talk:Yaris678|talk]]) 12:59, 19 October 2017 (BST)
The best place to report systematic list errors, to ensure that the WLM volunteers see them, is not on this thread, but rather at the main [[Commons:Commons:Commons:Wiki Loves Monuments 2013 in the United Kingdom/Organizers' help desk|WLM-UK help desk]].
==Wiki Loves Monuments UK 2017 awards announced==
[[File:The Derelict West Pier of Brighton.jpg|thumb|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.
Given the fact that the competition will be starting in just three weeks time (whether the UK team is ready or not!), I would ask that editors do not make any radical changes to the en Wikipedia lists at this stage which could inadvertently destroy the competition. In particular, '''please do not make mass reverts, unless you are able to put everything back correctly, and please do not remove or change the WLM template structure'''. This is essential for the automated upload tool to work properly, and also for the WLM international team to ensure that the data gets correctly harvested and copied into the worldwide Wiki Monuments Database.
First place goes to '''Matthew Hoser''' for his image of the derelict West Pier in Brighton.
After the competition has finished, at the end of September, would be a good time for the community to discuss - if desired - any possible template improvements to the way in which the UK data is standardized and displayed.
In second place was '''Paul Stümke''', who captured the Glenfinnan Viaduct at Loch Shiel.
Thanks for bearing with us and for helping out if you can.
Third was '''Oliver Tookey''' for the De La Warr Pavilion in Bexhill on Sea.
--[[User:MichaelMaggs|MichaelMaggs]] ([[User talk:MichaelMaggs|talk]]) 12:12, 11 August 2013 (UTC)
::And thanks to you Michael and everyone working on this - absolutely brilliant and I hope we can lead the way in supporting the newbies (especially) to remain active after the main event has happened. Ideas anyone? [[User:Jon Davies (WMUK)|Jon Davies (WMUK)]] ([[User talk:Jon Davies (WMUK)|talk]]) 08:26, 16 August 2013 (UTC)
The special prize for the best image taken in Scotland was awarded to '''Keith Proven''' for Smailholm Tower.
== Wikimania Wikidata and a talk ==
The special prize for the best image taken in Wales went to '''Sterim64''' for Craig-y-mor.
Hello everyone! :) Today DanielK(WMDE) told me that WMUK (or someone from WMUK that was at Wikimania) was looking for someone to 'give a wikidata introduction' talk of some sort! If anyone knows who was talking to the Wikidata team in Hongkong about this (maybe you are that person) then give me a shout as I may be able to help :) [[User:Addshore|Addshore]] ([[User talk:Addshore|talk]]) 20:39, 13 August 2013 (UTC)
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]].
:Awesome! Katie is probably the person to contact for details. (I did one of these a few months back and it went well - will happily pass on my notes - but don't have much free time at the moment to do others.) [[User:Andrew Gray|Andrew Gray]] ([[User talk:Andrew Gray|talk]]) 10:49, 14 August 2013 (UTC)
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)
::I got a poke from [[User:Mrjohncummings|Mrjohncummings]] [http://meta.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=User_talk:Addshore&diff=5721343&oldid=5719941 here]. :) [[User:Addshore|Addshore]] ([[User talk:Addshore|talk]]) 10:56, 14 August 2013 (UTC)
== Effects of broadband ==
:::Might have been me, I've had a few requests, I put a note on your talk page --[[User:Mrjohncummings|Mrjohncummings]] ([[User talk:Mrjohncummings|talk]]) 10:56, 14 August 2013 (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
== Last chance for comments on Train the Trainers ==
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)
::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)
All comments welcomed especially on the recommendations.
Hello everyone, as you probably know Wikimedia UK has been developing a Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) to teach people about Wikipedia. Progress is going well and we'd like to invite you to a workshop day on Saturday 9 November. The workshop will highlight the features of the VLE, look at how we can make good use of the tool, seek community involvement in the content, maintenance and localisation of the tool. Lunch will be provided on the day and I'm hoping very much to see you there. Please do feel free to drop me a line with any questions. [[User:Stevie Benton (WMUK)|Stevie Benton (WMUK)]] ([[User talk:Stevie Benton (WMUK)|talk]]) 11:22, 16 August 2013 (UTC)
There will be Wikidata training available in central London by [[User talk:Addshore|Addshore]] on one of these weekends in September, please could you register your interest below by signing your name next to the dates you're available on. Venue to be confirmed depending on numbers and dates.
* '''Saturday 14th'''
*# [[User:Edwardx|Edwardx]] ([[User talk:Edwardx|talk]]) 12:39, 16 August 2013 (UTC)
*# [[User:MartinPoulter|MartinPoulter]] ([[User talk:MartinPoulter|talk]]) 12:06, 20 August 2013 (UTC)
*# [[User:Edwardx|Edwardx]] ([[User talk:Edwardx|talk]]) 12:39, 16 August 2013 (UTC)
*# [[User:HJ Mitchell|<font color="Teal" face="Tahoma">'''Harry Mitchell'''</font>]] | [[User talk:HJ Mitchell|<font color="Navy" face= "Times New Roman">Penny for your thoughts? </font>]] 12:27, 20 August 2013 (UTC)
* '''Sunday 29th'''
*# [[User:Edwardx|Edwardx]] ([[User talk:Edwardx|talk]]) 12:39, 16 August 2013 (UTC)
*# [[User:HJ Mitchell|<font color="Teal" face="Tahoma">'''Harry Mitchell'''</font>]] | [[User talk:HJ Mitchell|<font color="Navy" face= "Times New Roman">Penny for your thoughts? </font>]] 12:27, 20 August 2013 (UTC)
*# [[User:MartinPoulter|MartinPoulter]] ([[User talk:MartinPoulter|talk]]) 16:23, 20 August 2013 (UTC)
Thanks
--[[User:Mrjohncummings|Mrjohncummings]] ([[User talk:Mrjohncummings|talk]]) 12:10, 16 August 2013 (UTC)
:Hello! Are there any more details on what the training will cover? Thanks! [[User:The Land|The Land]] ([[User talk:The Land|talk]]) 09:05, 18 August 2013 (UTC)
::Whatever you want :) I am currently part of the Wikidata team and have a wide range of Wikidata knowledge. My plan is to cover the basic terms used on Wikidata, Basic use of Wikidata, the community and processes that are in place, current features, future planned features (as well as anything extra people want to know!). Naturally actually using wikidata on the day is key and if you let me know specific things you would like to be included I can prepare bits and prices in advance! Of course on the day I would also be happy to answer questions about anything I have missed! [[User:Addshore|Addshore]] ([[User talk:Addshore|talk]]) 12:35, 18 August 2013 (UTC)
*I can't make any guarantees about availability just yet, but I'd love to learn a bit about Wikidata, and I'd hope other people who regularly deliver training or talk to people on behalf of WMUK would be keen, if only so we can answer any questions we're asked about it. [[User:HJ Mitchell|<font color="Teal" face="Tahoma">'''Harry Mitchell'''</font>]] | [[User talk:HJ Mitchell|<font color="Navy" face= "Times New Roman">Penny for your thoughts? </font>]] 12:27, 20 August 2013 (UTC)
::Just so you know I have just added the weekend dates back to the list above, depending on how things work out I may be able to do the training on two simultaneous weekends. I will choose which dates the training will take place on at the start of next week! [[User:Addshore|Addshore]] ([[User talk:Addshore|talk]]) 12:45, 20 August 2013 (UTC)
:::I think we could work something out for people who can't make it in person, maybe Google Hangouts would work? --[[User:Mrjohncummings|Mrjohncummings]] ([[User talk:Mrjohncummings|talk]]) 15:56, 20 August 2013 (UTC)
::::Indeed! [[User:Addshore|Addshore]] ([[User talk:Addshore|talk]]) 12:43, 22 August 2013 (UTC)
== Forthcoming page creation ==
Just a notice that I'm going to be making a lot of smallish sub-pages with custom CSS, in a pattern that may seem like a wikivous breakdown when looked at in Recent Changes, but the intention is to create a flowchart tool showing external partners how best to work with Wikimedia. I will do this for the Jisc collaboration project, but hopefully the way I implement it will mean there can be multiple entry points. [[User:MartinPoulter Jisc|MartinPoulter Jisc]] ([[User talk:MartinPoulter Jisc|talk]]) 16:29, 20 August 2013 (UTC)
:Sounds very posh! [[User:Chase me ladies, I'm the Cavalry|Richard Symonds]] ([[User talk:Chase me ladies, I'm the Cavalry|talk]]) 10:45, 21 August 2013 (UTC)
== Women's Engineering Society conference 4 October 2013 - would you like to attend to talk about Wikipedia? ==
Hi All, [http://www.wes.org.uk/ WES] has invited Wikimedia UK to join their one day conference [http://www.wes.org.uk/energy#Programme] (annual opportunity for women in engineering and related technologies to get together to discuss energy technologies). They are running a parallel session that's much broader in scope - and we got a slot to talk about Wikipedia, gender gap and how Editathons could increase the presence of women, and especially women in engineering, on Wikipedia. I will be attending, and if a volunteer would like to join me to co present I should be able to secure a free entry. daria.cybulska{{@}}wikimedia.org.uk. Many thanks! [[User:Daria Cybulska (WMUK)|Daria Cybulska (WMUK)]] ([[User talk:Daria Cybulska (WMUK)|talk]]) 14:08, 23 August 2013 (UTC)
== EduWiki 2013 Call for Proposals - extended deadline ==
Please note that the [[EduWiki Conference 2013/Call for proposals|call for proposals]] deadline for the [[EduWiki Conference 2013]] has been '''extended to Friday 30 August at noon'''. --[[User:Toni Sant (WMUK)|Toni Sant (WMUK)]] ([[User talk:Toni Sant (WMUK)|talk]]) 15:08, 23 August 2013 (UTC)
== Open access hackathon ==
Hi, not sure if this is right place to leave a message, but there's an event coming up that might be of interest to any Wikimedians who are interested in [[wikipedia:open access|open access]] to research. The [http://oabutton.wordpress.com/about/ Open Access Button] team (Joe and David) are holding a hackathon in London on the weekend of 7-8 September, venue to be decided very shortly. They are very interested in working with Wikimedia on their ideas, and on the Wikimania 2014 team we're planning on getting them involved in the conference next year. They're new to Wikimedia so are very keen to meet people and get involved. You can [https://twitter.com/OA_Button contact them on twitter] if you're interested. Thanks. [[User:Lawsonstu|Lawsonstu]] ([[User talk:Lawsonstu|talk]]) 16:32, 23 August 2013 (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)
