This is an idea I have had on the back burner for a long time. Note the following:
[[File:WCCWiki4.jpg|thumb|A {{wp|kanban board}} at the Women in Classical Studies editathon at Senate House, London]]
* We have [[Expert_outreach|existing relationships with many scientific bodies]] such as the Institute of Physics, Geological Society, Medical Research Council, and many more. However, individual societies are usually unwilling to take the risk of running a big event centred on Wikimedia because, although they have ''some'' interest from their members, they can't be sure that enough [physicists, geologists, psychologists, whatever] will turn up.
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.
* Many scientists are pure researchers working in small research centres: they aren't associated with universities, or at least university teaching. These small research centres or groups can easily be missed in our outreach but they can be very receptive: e.g. [[European_young_researchers_network_Wikipedia_workshop|Sphingonet]]
* Scientists are under professional pressure 1) to engage with the public, 2) to make all the outputs of their research open-access and freely reusable. This is the case much more so now than just a few years ago. This makes them receptive to explanations of how they can achieve this. This has also led to a great expansion of science communicators/ public engagement professionals.
* Scientists are likely to do coding/markup in their daily work. This makes them "low-hanging fruit". It's not that they are more valuable to Wikipedia than arts/humanities experts: in fact I think WP is clearly ''more'' in need of content and expertise in arts/humanities areas. I mean that in the current atmosphere, outreach to scientists is more likely to result in enthusiasm and concrete outcomes.
* We have [[Wikimedia_as_a_public_engagement_tool_for_scientists|documentation]] and [[Expert_outreach/Jisc_Ambassador/Research_impact_and_open_education|workshops]] aimed at scientists and their bosses, explaining how Wikimedia relates to their goals of research impact and public engagement. These materials need continual improvement and wide publicity.
* There are articulate scientist-Wikipedians such as [http://blog.wikimedia.org.uk/2014/03/wikipedia-and-the-digital-enlightenment/ Peter Murray Rust], [[w:User:Daniel_Mietchen|Daniel Mietchen]], [http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v468/n7325/full/468765c.html Darren Logan, and Alex Bateman] who are great at demonstrating Wikimedia's relevance to scientific practice.
* Wikimania 2014 and other events have shown that Wikimedia has useful friends in the scientific sphere, including the Public Library of Science and the many Open Access/Open Science advocates.
* We have raised a lot of awareness of Wikipedia as a platform for dissemination or for education, but not so much yet about WP as a platform for research itself.
* Wikimedia UK volunteers have run sessions at science conferences but there is just too much overlap between Wikimedia and science to cover in a single session.
I think all these facts suggest that a large conference (aiming at 100 attendees) on Science and Wikipedia would have a lot of impact. The themes of the conference would be:
Who was involved with that editathon? Who has used it elsewhere? I would love to hear how it has been used in practice.
* Wikipedia and Wikimedia as platforms for promoting informed public discussion of scientific topics and theories (acknowledging that the public have a curiosity about all sorts of scientific topics, and overwhelmingly use Wikipedia as a starting point to self-educate).
* Wikipedia and Wikimedia as a platform for research (e.g. the [[:meta:Research:Index|Research portal]]).
* Wikipedia and Wikimedia as a model for scientific publishing and citizen science (including Wiki-to-Journal publication, [http://wikiambassador.jiscinvolve.org/wp/2014/03/28/publishing-scholarly-wikipedia/ Journal-to-Wiki publication], altmetrics, machine-extraction of data from published research, open bibliographic data, data citation, [http://www.jiscinfonet.ac.uk/infokits/crowdsourcing/practice/ crowdsourced enhancement of scholarly databases], integration of Wikipedia with open/free services such as Figshare, ORCID, Flickr...)
* Wikipedia and Wikimedia as a platform for scientific education. (The answer to "I haven't time to edit Wikipedia." is "Allocate your students to do it and assess them.")
* Women in Science and Technology: is Wikipedia reinforcing stereotypes or providing role models? What is being done?
* Since a lot of the attendees will be personally interested in editing Wikipedia, the event should include training.
I see this as potentially a day or day-and-a-half event, on the model of EduWiki. Much as I advocate for geographic diversity, the scholarly societies and science communicators are so concentrated in London that this event would realistically have to be in London. This means that for it to be financially feasible we'd need a host organisation to provide a cheap venue. It would need about a year's lead time to organise and publicise.
[[User:Yaris678|Yaris678]] ([[User talk:Yaris678|talk]]) 15:09, 3 February 2017 (GMT)
I realise that WMUK's funding makes it hard to plan costly activities in advance, that staff have a lot on their plate and that at this point the suggestion of organising another conference may come like fatty food after a powerful hangover. On the other hand, I think an event like this could be a great success, would continue the partnerships we've already worked to build up, could spawn more editors and more partnerships, and could involve shared effort with other Open Coalition organisations, such as Open Knowledge. Feedback welcome on this suggestion. [[User:MartinPoulter|MartinPoulter]] ([[User talk:MartinPoulter|talk]]) 14:20, 29 August 2014 (BST)
: 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)
:Sounds like a good idea in principle. Wearing my "Wikipedian-in-Residence at ORCID" hat, I'm in. We should consider whether there are other events to which this could be attached (to save/ share costs), and whether we need a traditional or "unconference" format (or a blend). Does the medical project do anything like this? What about the open access/ open publishing folk? <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> 21:36, 29 August 2014 (BST)
::Would be great to have you involved, Andy. Yay for a blend of keynotes/ scheduled sessions/ unconference blocks! That way we have appealing stuff to publicise, but lots of attendees get a chance to speak and people can talk about very new activities. I think medicine on Wikipedia could be a conference itself, but throwing the net wider means a wider potential audience, and STEM is a wide net. A conference like this is probably a necessary step on the way to more specialised conferences, and that's a big reason I'd like us to do it.
::There are relevant conferences where we've previously been represented, like Science Online London and the national public engagement conference, and we've run workshops adjacent to major subject conferences (you may well have done this yourself), but I think the interesting work going on under the above themes has outgrown one subject or one session in a conference. [[User:MartinPoulter|MartinPoulter]] ([[User talk:MartinPoulter|talk]]) 23:55, 29 August 2014 (BST)
:: Worth noting that the Science Online London (now branded as SPOTON) has gone silent - no word whether there will be a 2014 event so I guess that means there won't. There is certainly a gap waiting to be filled. I would be happy to help out. [[User:fnorman|Frank Norman]]
:::Love the idea of the conference. I have organised and facilitated an unconference as part of a wider conference before, so could do similar for this. [[User:Yaris678|Yaris678]] ([[User talk:Yaris678|talk]]) 19:15, 30 August 2014 (BST)
::::I think this is a great idea, thank you for sharing. Wikimedia UK's proposal to the FDC needs to be complete and handed in on 1st October. If we wanted to include something like this in our proposal we would need to get a handle on how much it would cost and where it would fit into our [[Strategic Goals|strategic goals]] - which of course it does. If anyone is keen to start a wiki page for the proposed event where we can thrash out some details, I would be happy to help. We'd need to be fairly quick about it. If there is anything the office can do to help please do let me know. [[User:Stevie Benton (WMUK)|Stevie Benton (WMUK)]] ([[User talk:Stevie Benton (WMUK)|talk]]) 11:24, 1 September 2014 (BST)
I think this is a great idea and would happily help out17:30, 2 September 2014 (BST)[[Special:Contributions/143.65.196.4|143.65.196.4]] <-- this is HenryScow, unfortunately I'm having login probs on WMUK!
Sounds a great idea. There's only so much you can do in a day (or 1.5) though, especially if training is included. Some narrower focus might be a good idea, leaving space for the next year .... [[User:Johnbod|Johnbod]] ([[User talk:Johnbod|talk]]) 22:27, 4 September 2014 (BST)
::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)
:@[[User:Johnbod|Johnbod]]: I agree that pursuing each of these themes at length would make the conference too big. The idea is that we invite contributions on these themes and the conference participants decide which to prioritise. Also, the unconference format would mean that there could be sessions that cover a lot of ideas in a short time, eg. lightning talks or round-table discussions. I share the hope that follow-up events would have a different emphasis.
:@[[User:Stevie Benton (WMUK)|Stevie Benton (WMUK)]]: I want to take up your offer. I'm kind of worn out writing stuff, but I'm clear in my head how this relates to the strategic goals. If we talk over Skype and you ask me some questions, can you write down the details you need?
:@all: So we need to decide quickly if this is actually happening, and it's not happening unless we have a venue we can use freely or very cheaply. That means that we must get a suitable host organisation. The Wellcome Trust/Wellcome Library would be an ideal location, as would the Royal Society, as would the British Library, as would the Science Museum (where we've previously had an AGM). My recollection of the Institute of Physics building is that its rooms are not quite big enough for the conference I envisage, but there are other scholarly societies that have suitable venues and would like to do a jointly badged event with Wikimedia UK. I'm assuming that once we have a venue, WMUK could pay for refreshments, handle bookings and we volunteers can organise programme and publicity. So let's all pump our respective contacts and try to get at least an in-principle agreement. This could be a headline-making event, especially with the right controversial speakers. [[User:MartinPoulter|MartinPoulter]] ([[User talk:MartinPoulter|talk]]) 15:02, 6 September 2014 (BST)
:An additional thought: the one-and-a-half-day format assumes people are staying overnight. This will be more difficult in London than in other places. Perhaps it would be better to run the conference for two days, with a late start both days so that people can commute in (e.g. from Cambridge or Oxford) on off-peak trains. [[User:MartinPoulter|MartinPoulter]] ([[User talk:MartinPoulter|talk]]) 17:27, 6 September 2014 (BST)
::Okay, good news everyone: contacts have been pumped and we have a willing host organisation which is absolutely ideal: the Wellcome Trust (who hosted the [[Wellcome_Library_editathon|Medical Humanities editathon]] earlier this year)! Next important task is to decide *dates* for the conference. This would appeal to scientists, academics, science communicators, librarians and of course Wikimedia volunteers- very much the same bunch who would have attended SpotOn. For those based in universities, it's hard to find a convenient slot. May-to-mid-June will be difficult because of exams/marking. Mid-September onwards is the start of term. July is when people are usually away on holiday. The first week of August is out because Wikimedians will be in Mexico for Wikimania. We need to suggest some dates to Wellcome. [[User:MartinPoulter|MartinPoulter]] ([[User talk:MartinPoulter|talk]]) 14:13, 8 September 2014 (BST)
:::Awesome. Great work and great location. I am flexible on date. [[User:Yaris678|Yaris678]] ([[User talk:Yaris678|talk]]) 14:24, 8 September 2014 (BST)
::::@[[User:Yaris678]]: Thanks. I'll be taking you and everybody else up on their offers of help. :) [[User:MartinPoulter|MartinPoulter]] ([[User talk:MartinPoulter|talk]]) 17:10, 8 September 2014 (BST)
@all: We now have a planning page for the conference, at [[Wikipedia Science Conference]], so please join in there. As the page develops, I hope we can move some planning stuff to sub-pages. [[User:MartinPoulter|MartinPoulter]] ([[User talk:MartinPoulter|talk]]) 17:10, 8 September 2014 (BST)
== Automated membership welcomes and renewal process - feedback sought ==
::: 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)
Dear all,
::::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)
We are now working with a contractor to improve the way our database supports membership applications, approvals and renewals and reminders!
== 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]]
I have created a flowchart to describe what we are currently planning as a process - you can see it [[:File:Draft - membership welcome and reminder process.pdf| here]]. The shapes that are not green represent different email templates that are customised by linking to member details held on each person's database record.
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.
I would love feedback about:
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:
*What stages are missed
# Diverse content and contributors
*What else might we include in these emails in terms of content
# Promoting open knowledge
*What problems can you see with this
# Education and Learning
I will review comments on Friday 12th September so '''please get back to me by then - the talk page for the flow chart would be best or you can email me directly.''' Unfortunately I am on holiday Saturday 6th - Thursday 11th so won't reply on those days but other members of staff will keep an eye out for any requests for info and if I can check in from a French campsite I will :-) [[User:Katherine Bavage (WMUK)|Katherine Bavage (WMUK)]] ([[User talk:Katherine Bavage (WMUK)|talk]]) 15:33, 3 September 2014 (BST)
These strands are directly related to our three strategic goals, which are to:
== Tweaks to the front page Wordpress template ==
* 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.
I just did some testing of the WMUK home page. Well done for embedding the Youtube video in a way that doesn't track the users!
There are several questions in particular that I’d like to ask:
A few quite minor things that could be changed in the template:
* 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?
The "Welcome" top-level heading on the front page is a common error: it suggests to search engines that the word "welcome" is relevant to the content of the site. The heading does nothing at best, or dilutes the relevance of content search terms to the content of the site. Better to have "Wikimedia UK" as the h1 on that page: we want people searching for "Wikimedia UK" to find that page, don't we?
The source code contains <nowiki><link rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml" title="wikimedia.org.uk » Welcome Comments Feed" href="https://wikimedia.org.uk/wellcome/feed/" /></nowiki> but this is a broken link, as is /welcome/feed/ and /feed/ . I don't think there's any need for this tag at all.
== ACTRIAL and new users creating new pages at events ==
This og:description meta tag includes a sentence fragment: "We can teach you how to ...". The description would be fine without this.
Hi All,
These are minor quibbles but fixing them would help the appearance of the site in search engines. [[User:MartinPoulter|MartinPoulter]] ([[User talk:MartinPoulter|talk]]) 18:34, 5 September 2014 (BST)
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.
== Lyon Declaration on Access to Information and Development ==
[[User:Yaris678|Yaris678]] ([[User talk:Yaris678|talk]]) 14:44, 25 September 2017 (BST)
Hello everyone. Wikimedia UK is considering signing the [http://www.lyondeclaration.org/ Lyon Declaration on Access to Information and Development]. This is a very common sense document that calls on members of the EU to work to make access to information a priority as it is key to sustainable development and democracy. There is nothing controversial in there and I strongly recommend that we sign. Please do take a look and let me know if you have any serious objections. Thank you. [[User:Stevie Benton (WMUK)|Stevie Benton (WMUK)]] ([[User talk:Stevie Benton (WMUK)|talk]]) 15:45, 8 September 2014 (BST)
: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)
:Having had a look at the declaration and other signatories, this looks very much in line with our mission. The list of signatories, with many national libraries and professional bodies, seems to be substantially the sort of organisation we want to work with and show ourselves to be aligned with. No objections from me. [[User:MartinPoulter|MartinPoulter]] ([[User talk:MartinPoulter|talk]]) 17:38, 8 September 2014 (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)
:I would also be happy to recommend supporting the declaration (this is a personal view, and I am here not speaking as chair).--[[User:MichaelMaggs|MichaelMaggs]] ([[User talk:MichaelMaggs|talk]]) 20:10, 8 September 2014 (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)
::I'd support this too [[User:Mccapra|Mccapra]] ([[User talk:Mccapra|talk]]) 17:42, 25 September 2014 (BST)
== Padmini Ray Murray steps down as trustee ==
: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)
As many in the community may already know, Padmini announced some time ago that she would be stepping down from her role as trustee in order to take up a new position teaching digital humanities at [http://www.srishti.ac.in Srishti] in Bangalore. Her final day as trustee will be Thursday 18th September. On behalf of us all, I'd like to thank her for the work she has done and wish her all the best for the future.
==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.
The board hopes to appoint a replacement trustee shortly. --[[User:MichaelMaggs|MichaelMaggs]] ([[User talk:MichaelMaggs|talk]]) 05:46, 15 September 2014 (BST)
First place goes to '''Matthew Hoser''' for his image of the derelict West Pier in Brighton.
==Volunteer job list==
We are creating a list of [[volunteer jobs]], some online, some at specific locations. Please check if there is anything you are up for, or make some suggestions.[[User:Fabian Tompsett (WMUK)|Fabian Tompsett (WMUK)]] ([[User talk:Fabian Tompsett (WMUK)|talk]]) 15:46, 18 September 2014 (BST)
:This is a really good idea. How to coordinate volunteers has always been an issue that we're not sure about. This is a good step in the right direction... and one that no on can disagree with and that should fit naturally with how Wikimedians work. [[User:Yaris678|Yaris678]] ([[User talk:Yaris678|talk]]) 11:56, 19 September 2014 (BST)
== Preparations for EduWiki 2014 ==
In second place was '''Paul Stümke''', who captured the Glenfinnan Viaduct at Loch Shiel.
[[File:Edinburgh University St-Leonard's Hall 01.JPG|250px|thumbnail|Edinburgh First's St Leonard's Hall - venue for EduWiki Conference 2014]]
Preparations for [[EduWiki Conference 2014]] are now in full swing. The event will take place on Friday 31 October 2014 in Edinburgh. [https://donate.wikimedia.org.uk/civicrm/event/info?reset=1&id=99 Registration is open until Monday 6 October]; the reduced rate for Wikimedians and other concessions is £25. Details about [[EduWiki Conference 2014/Accommodation|accommodation options at and around the conference venue]] have also been released. A limited budget to support scholarships for the conference has been allocated and applications; please contact education{{at}}wikimedia.org.uk by Monday 29 September to apply for a scholarship.
Kindly direct any personal questions or concerns to me. We hope to see many members of the WMUK community at the conference, especially those who live within easy traveling distance from Edinburgh. --[[User:Toni Sant (WMUK)|Toni Sant (WMUK)]] ([[User talk:Toni Sant (WMUK)|talk]]) 10:53, 19 September 2014 (BST)
Third was '''Oliver Tookey''' for the De La Warr Pavilion in Bexhill on Sea.
== An opportunity at the Science Museum Late ==
The special prize for the best image taken in Scotland was awarded to '''Keith Proven''' for Smailholm Tower.
Wikimedia UK has been in discussion with our friends at the Science Museum regarding taking part in a Science Museum Lates event on Wednesday 26 November. The theme of the event will be The Information Age to celebrate the opening of [http://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/visitmuseum/Plan_your_visit/exhibitions/information_age.aspx their new gallery on this theme] in October. This gallery is a significant development, the biggest of its kind in the museum for more than a decade. Entry is free and the Late audience is going to be around 5,000 people, most between 18 and 35 and with a roughly equal gender balance.
The special prize for the best image taken in Wales went to '''Sterim64''' for Craig-y-mor.
The discussions are going well and we are now looking for suggestions of the kind of activities we could offer in the Museum during the evening event. If you have any ideas for events or displays - make them ambitious and exciting! - please comment here, or email [mailto:stevie.benton@wikimedia.org.uk Stevie Benton] or [mailto:roberta.wedge@wikimedia.org.uk me], and we will bring you on board to help make the plans and arrangements. It's also possible we will need some volunteers on the night. If you're keen to be involved, again, please do let us know.
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]].
Lates take place in the museum on the last Wednesday of every month. [http://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/visitmuseum/Plan_your_visit/lates/ September's is about the science of magic and illusion], while October's is about food and drink, so drop in for a flavour (sorry) of how these events work.
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)
So that we have enough time to prepare for November's Information Age Late, please give us your suggestions by the end of September. [[User:Roberta Wedge (WMUK)|Roberta Wedge (WMUK)]] ([[User talk:Roberta Wedge (WMUK)|talk]]) 17:32, 19 September 2014 (BST)
== Effects of broadband ==
== ORCID user template ==
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
{{tl|User ORCID}} is now available, for those of you who have an [[:w:en:ORCID|ORCID]] identifier (and I encourage you to register for one). You can see an example on my user page. <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> 23:31, 19 September 2014 (BST)
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)
== Volunteer Strategy==
::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)
I have just put up the notes from our recent Volunteer Strategy Meeting. Please have a look [[Volunteer Strategy Meeting, September 2014|here]]. Any comments welcome.[[User:Fabian Tompsett (WMUK)|Fabian Tompsett (WMUK)]] ([[User talk:Fabian Tompsett (WMUK)|talk]]) 09:40, 21 September 2014 (BST)
:{{U|Fabian Tompsett (WMUK)|Fabian}}, in the first list it says: [[Volunteer_Strategy_Meeting,_September_2014#Volunteering_Strategy_Conference|First one in late November 2014, second in March 2014]]; should this be March 2015? -- [[User:Marek69|<span style="color: DarkBlue">Marek</span><span style="color: Blue"><small>.69</small></span>]][[user_talk:Marek69|<span style="color: Green"><small><sup>'' talk''</sup></small></span>]] 18:42, 30 September 2014 (BST)
== Technology Scoping report ==
At the Board meeting on October 4th the trustees will be considering a report from an IT consultant on how the Chapter could develop its support of technical innovation. There are several options in [https://wikimedia.org.uk/wiki/File:Technology_scoping_report,_September_2014_%28draft%29.pdf the document]. The board would be very keen to hear community opinions on the discussion page. [[User:Jon Davies (WMUK)|Jon Davies (WMUK)]] ([[User talk:Jon Davies (WMUK)|talk]]) 14:18, 23 September 2014 (BST)
==Wikidata training==
Wikimedia UK is providing our second Wikidata training day on Saturday 11th October. This will be in the basement of Development House, London, the building where Wikimedia UK offices are located. If you are interested in coming please register [https://donate.wikimedia.org.uk/civicrm/event/info?id=147&reset=1 here]. We are very lucky to have Magnus Manske lead the session and we are particularly keen to encourage our accredited trainers to attend as we plan to build the capacity to run more sessions up and down the country. Wikidata is an amazing innovation which promises to have an increasingly significant impact both on the way Wikipedia works as well as on the wider Open Data movement. This is a good opportunity to get a clearer understanding of how Wikidata works.[[User:Fabian Tompsett (WMUK)|Fabian Tompsett (WMUK)]] ([[User talk:Fabian Tompsett (WMUK)|talk]]) 10:48, 26 September 2014 (BST)
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.
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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)
