IT Development/Progress meetings/Agenda 7 January 2014

Connection details

The meeting starts at 2pm. Some members will be present in person at the WMUK offices.

Agenda

Where the item is being introduced or led by a particular person this is indicated in brackets. Actions are included as sub-items below. If an action is completed, then please add {{tick}} at the end of the line! Please highlight priority items for discussion in bold below.

Meeting logistics

1. ACTION: KB to email tech@ after December board meeting to check availability of committee and developers. Done
2. Nomination of chair and minute-taker (KB)
3. Apologies and Introductions

Policy and impact

1. Some feedback from the board (MM)
2. Thoughts about making an impact via larger projects, and how to achieve that
   1. Staffing to achieve impact
   2. QRPedia (list of current tasks here)
   3. VLE (See latest progress report)
   4. Writing Community-wide tools?
      1. eg taking the lead on developing analytics tools? (which WMF is doing only very slowly)
      2. eg Tools to improve accessibility?
   5. Writing Lua modules, or training?
      1.  See email from WMIL:

'From: Anders Wennersten <mail@anderswennersten.se> Subject: [Wikimedia-l] Wikidata, templates, Modules Lua Date: 5 January 2014 11:41:06 GMT To: Wikimedia Mailing List <wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org> Reply-To: Wikimedia Mailing List <wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org>

On sv:wp we are several hundreds of competent and active contributers. Many of these have limited technical competence, so it will only be about a third of these able to enter iw links in wikidata and writing a template. This still leaves a few hundreds who easily supports the other 2/3rds with this competence

But when in comes understand the other parts of Wikidata and how to get that data into articles and templates, the number dwindles leaving only about 50 understanding this. It is still enough to discuss and give general broader support but it is starting to become a bottleneck in implementing broader usage of Wikidata. Then we come to the fact that for a successful implementation you need to develop Modules written i Lua. And here it is needed full programming comptence, and on sv:wp there will only be 5-10 having this level of competence. And this then becomes a subcritical mass as these persons do not have the ambition to develop Modules for others. Also two of these competent ones are employed by WMSE, perhaps this is typical, if you have that level of competence you will be very busy in your paid profession as sw developer.

We are now in a discussions in WMSE and the community if it would be acceptable that chapter resources help in writing Lua code in Modules for people in the community in need but lacking that competence? It is not a volume or cost issue as it is still no major effort, but more a principle one if if can be Ok in this way to make the Chapter not only support the community but also in this direct way creating thing for Wikipedia.

Are there experince from other communities or chapters on this dilemma?

Anders

Technical & detail

1. Maintenance (KB)
   1. ACTION: TM/EE to expand the service portfolio page to indicate who is maintaining each service Done
   2. ACTION: KB to review notifications that EE sends to Tech@ and share most important ones on community mailing list/Water cooler as appropriate
   3. ACTION: KB/TM to work on install and complementary write-up of how to use Bugzilla pre-next Tech Committee meeting N
   4. ACTION: KB to set up a projects request page, and corresponding email address to support confidential notifications.
   5. ACTION: KB to create a UKReg account for MP to log in and clear up domain name details. Done
   6. ACTION: EE to move the main WMUK wiki from wiki.wikimedia.org.uk to www.wikimedia.org.uk Done
   7. ACTION: EE to chase up redirecting uk.wikimedia.org to the new wiki location Doing...
   8. ACTION: KTC/HB to encourage the updating of interwikis on the Wikimedia projects so that the WMUK interwiki link points to the new wiki location. Y
   9. ACTION: RN to use the mailing list and watercooler to ask if people had experienced any negative impact following the implementation of https.
   10. ACTION: FTP service - buy Rackspace (£12/month for first 100GB) provisionally for 6 months as a trial
   11. ACTION: Voice recording - KB to move AM’s bug on bugzilla to the UK wiki and email tech com with link
2. QRpedia (KB)
   1. ACTION: KB to:
      • log the transfer of the QRpedia blog as an RT ticket
      • forward testing email to RB, TE and Andy Mabbett (AM) to look for bugs
      • work on assumption that the DNS can switch to a debugged WMUK installation on 4th March 2013
      • work with RB to identity key existing users
      • contact known existing users, and forward emails to wikimediauk-l and cultural partners mailing lists, to inform of change when date known, and before transfer
   2. ACTION: KB to create list on WMUK Wiki AND DT would mirror WMUK Wiki page onto Meta AND KC would modify page for translation.
   3. ACTION: KB to undertake following after DNS changeover:
      • chat to Stevie Benton (SB) about ideas for promoting engagement.
      • set up a page inviting discussion about new applications or contexts for us
   4. ACTION: RB to liaise with Saad Choudry/WMUK Board as appropriate and confirm any terms that need to be taken into consideration before KB to proceed with promoting wider engagement/generation of ideas.
   5. ACTION: To expedite technical development, it was decided to create a page on the WMUK wiki to collate and update what is known about current QRpedia users (KB)
   6. ACTION: KB to clarify the degree of separation of IP required with Saad Choudry - i.e is a separate registrar sufficient or would separate server hosting be necessary?
   7. ACTION: KB to log transfer or shared access of the QRpedia twitter account as a task following transfer.
   8. ACTION: KB to log transfer or shared access of the QRpedia blog as a task following transfer.
   9. ACTION: EE to ensure code shared in WMF code repository Done
   10. ACTION: EE to expand stub of project page on Meta: http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/QRpedia Done
   11. ACTION: KB to ask CEO and Saad Choudry for an update
   12. ACTION: RN to write to Jonathan to see how GLAM committee can use QRpedia, copy RB in.
   13. ACTION: KB to consult with TM and RB to see if transfer can wait until late December to minimise disruption of service. Keep Tech Com updated using tech@ Done
3. CiviCRM (EE)
   1. ACTION: KB to turn turn off 'forward to a friend' function and to talk to KTC about suggested two-stage notification click process.
4. Usage of non-EU systems, particularly with regards PRISM (EE)
   1. ACTION: EE and TM to present a report at the next full Tech Com meeting. Done A proposal of policy
5. Mediawiki (EE/TM)
   1. ACTION: Calendar extension - KB to contact Asaf to explain (MP to forward email thread) and ask what required to assist
   2. ACTION: TM to enquire with the WMF ops team about their plans for OpenID/opening up SUL, and to feed back via the mailing list or at the next committee meeting. N
6. OTRS (EE)
   1. ACTION: KB to update on this by email
7. Virtual Learning Environment (TM)
   1. ACTION: KB to arrange an urgent phonecall on VLE, SB/TM/KB to discuss costs and use Done
   2. ACTION: KB to update CM and ask for his suggestions
   3. ACTION: CM to use bugzilla for project management
8. Hackathons (KB)
   1. ACTION: KB to update on this by email
9. Virtual presence (KB)
   1. ACTION: KB to update on this by email
10. Europeana (KB)
11. Email use policy (KB)
    1. ACTION: KB to update on this by email
12. Planet (HB)
    1. ACTION: HB to post the suggestion of a WMUK Planet to the Community mailing list and to report feedback to the next Technology Committee meeting. Y
    2. ACTION: HB to log bug in bugzilla about setting up blog aggregator Y
    3. ACTION: HB to email Stevie Benton about content for blog aggregator Y
13. Toolserver
    1. ACTION: Committee members with concerns about disbursing the unspent funds differently to email around Tech@; KB to pick up on any consensus about alternate approaches.
14. Tech manager hire
    1. ACTION: KB and RN to draft job description and circulate drafting page to tech@
15. AOB
    1. Wiki user rights
       1. ACTION: KTC to raise issue about wiki user rights by email
    2. (HB) Resolve bug #35 by agreeing destination for new bug emails
16. Date of next meeting (including defining the exact date and place before the meeting closes).
17. Other
    1. TM: IPV6, Make our services IPV6 compatible Doing...
    2. TM: Monitoring, Having a services monitoring solution - status of experimentation. Doing...