Cross-posting to India list.
-------- Original Message --------
Subject: [Wiki-research-l] Registration open for the Hackathon in
Berlin, May 13-15
Date: Thu, 10 Mar 2011 18:15:52 +0100
From: Daniel Kinzler <daniel(a)brightbyte.de>
Reply-To: Research into Wikimedia content and communities
<wiki-research-l(a)lists.wikimedia.org>
Organization: Wikimedia Deutschland e.V.
To: mediawiki-l(a)lists.wikimedia.org, wikitech-l(a)lists.wikimedia.org,
toolserver-l(a)lists.wikimedia.org, Research into Wikimedia content and
communities <wiki-research-l(a)lists.wikimedia.org>, Wikitext-l
<wikitext-l(a)lists.wikimedia.org>, Sumana Harihareswara
<sumanah(a)panix.com>, Danese Cooper <dcooper(a)wikimedia.org>, Erik Moeller
<erik(a)wikimedia.org>, Rob Lanphier <robla(a)wikimedia.org>
CC: Nicole Ebber <nicole.ebber(a)wikimedia.de>, Pavel Richter
<pavel.richter(a)wikimedia.de>, hackathon(a)wikimedia.de
Hi all!
Wikimedia Germany invites anyone interested in improving MediaWiki to come and
join us at or third developer meet-up. Like the last two years, it's going to be
awesome! Unlike the last two years, there will be more hacking and less talking
- it'll be a Hackathon, not a BarCamp.
We'll meet on May 13 to 15, in Berlin, on the 4th floor of the betahaus
coworking space<http://betahaus.de/>.
There will not be an entrance fee, but registration is mandatory and now open:
<http://de.amiando.com/hackathon2011>.
Registration will close on April 10. If you like to attend, please register in
time!
More information can be found at
<http://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Berlin_Hackathon_2011>.
The Berlin Hackathon 2011 is an opportunity for MediaWiki hackers to come
together, squash bugs and write crazy new features. Our main focus this time
around will probably be:
* Improving usability / accessibility
* Interactive Maps
* Fixing the parser
* WMF Ops (new data center, virtualization)
* Supporting the Wiki Loves Monuments image hunt
* Squashing bugs
If you have different ideas, please let us know:
<http://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Berlin_Hackathon_2011#Topics>
The Hackathon will be hosting the Language committee and Wiki loves Monuments
group. There is a limited number of seats reserved for these groups and if you
belong to one of them, you should receive an invitation code soon.
If you have any doubts or questions, contact us at<hackathon(a)wikimedia.de>.
We’re excited to see you in Berlin, your Hackathon Team
Daniel Kinzler (Program Coordinator)
Nicole Ebber (Logistics)
Cornelius Kibelka (Assistant)
_______________________________________________
Wiki-research-l mailing list
Wiki-research-l(a)lists.wikimedia.org
https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wiki-research-l
--
Barry Newstead
Chief Global Development Officer
Wikimedia Foundation
Tel: +1-415-839-6885 x. 6634
Skype: barry.wikimedia
Twitter: @bazanews
Dear Sankar,
I have read the discussion here :
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Commons:Deletion_requests/File:Mahasarasw…
<http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Commons:Deletion_requests/File:Mahasarasw…>and
the http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Commons:Freedom_of_panorama#India
and the threads on the Wikimedia-I list.
<http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Commons:Freedom_of_panorama#India>I am
not qualified to comment but here goes. I think rather than look to
Wikipedia to change its policy, we must take the trouble to gather some kind
of proof.
Perhaps the best way is the way suggested by you - the Public Trust route,
i.e.
* Prove that temple is public trust, and work in public place of art
* statement from trust that said painting has been in their ownership
earlier than 1950
* supported (if possible) by proof such as :
** stock register where the item is taken on charge
** record of payment to the artist
** affidavit from someone who has been associated over 60 years with the
temple that image is over 60 years old
** mention in some old book, etc
** sometimes old timers who visit the temple regularly remember details and
we can contact the artist (especially if its recent). He may release it into
public domain/under free license.
These could be sent as an OTRS so that the image is accepted.
Alternative (?) - get an artist to make a similar work & release it under
CC3.0 BYSA.
I dont know if this is helpful but for important images such as these, we
may need to take great efforts equivalent to the efforts for a hundred other
images otherwise.
BTW, I think we need an article on this temple too.
Sincerely,
Ashwin Baindur
On Tue, Mar 22, 2011 at 11:44 PM, Bishakha Datta <bishakhadatta(a)gmail.com>wrote:
> And this is his second email.
>
> Best
> Bishakha
>
> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
> From: Sankar Viswanathan <sankarrukku(a)gmail.com>
> Date: Tue, Mar 22, 2011 at 10:36 PM
> Subject: Re: Commons:Deletion requests/File:Mahasaraswati.jpg
> To: Bishakha Datta <bishakhadatta(a)gmail.com>
>
>
> Thank you, Bishaka.
>
> I think it would help if you forward this to Tinu Cherian and Ashwin and
> ask them to post their comments there. Posting to the India list would be
> ideal. But I do not know how to do it.
>
>
> Sankar
>
> Service to Humanity is Service to God
>
>
> On Tue, Mar 22, 2011 at 10:03 PM, Bishakha Datta <bishakhadatta(a)gmail.com>wrote:
>
>> Dear Sankar,
>>
>> Am really sorry to hear that - I know that deletion is becoming a big
>> issue across many of the projects, not just Commons.
>>
>> The thing is editing decisions are made by the relevant project community,
>> so there is nothing I can do either. But here's what I suggest: please post
>> this to the India list. There are many editors on it, some of whom may be
>> able to help you with this by intervening directly in the discussion. Others
>> may have faced similar issues, or it may help to have other voices heard?
>>
>> That is what I would seriously urge you to do; meanwhile, I shall keep
>> your comment, specially the aspect of 'not assuming good faith' in mind - we
>> are to have a broader discussion around these issues at our board meeting
>> later this week, so will bring this up then.
>>
>> Alternately, please bring it to the attention of Tinu Cherian (
>> tinucherian(a)gmail.com) who is an administrator on English wikipedia +
>> Ashwin Baindur (ashwin.baindur(a)gmail.com) - they may be able to advise
>> you more meaningfully, specially if this is a recurring issue.
>>
>> But there may be many others who can advise you on the India list if you
>> post there. Let me know if you want me to forward this to Tinu Cherian or
>> Ashwin or both.
>>
>> Bishakha
>>
>>
>> On Tue, Mar 22, 2011 at 4:12 PM, Sankar Viswanathan <
>> sankarrukku(a)gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>>> Hello Bishaka,
>>>
>>> Thank you for your response to my mail.
>>>
>>> The discussion is still going on. But the dice is loaded in favor of
>>> deletion.
>>>
>>> There are certain points which were raised in the discussion.
>>>
>>> Wikipedia is paranoid about Copyright. Of course this is a result of the
>>> U.S law and any number of cases. There was a time when any image available
>>> on the web was accptable to Wikippedia. I think they had some problems then.
>>> Of course there are some people who take delight in Deletion. Kind of a
>>> sadism.
>>>
>>> <<So to keep such images in Commons, either Indian government or Commons
>>> needs to have a policy addressing all pictures for which original authorship
>>> is unknown, or at the least about paintings of God which is widely
>>> available. Until then, we can either assume good faith and keep this image
>>> or start a new mass DR for all the images in the category Hindu deities.>>
>>>
>>> Indian government will not do anything. But Wiki Commons can do
>>> something. Another thing which is surprising is there is no assumption of
>>> Good faith. I am a volunteer. How do I benefit by the uploading of the
>>> image? Actually most volunteers like me do end up by spending money, because
>>> my internet connection is not free. I do not use an internet connection
>>> provided by any organization. This atitude of "there is no assumption of
>>> Good faith" will put off many people.
>>>
>>> I can not imagine anybody from India suing Wikipedia over an obscure
>>> painting in a temple.
>>>
>>> Now they are quoting the U.K law on which the Indian law is modelled to
>>> say that Wall paintings are not covered. This would effectively stop upload
>>> of many of the paintings in temples.
>>>
>>> But in India in a public temple, the installed idol itself is held to be
>>> the temple’s legal owner, and the beneficiaries—those to whom the endowment
>>> is dedicated --—are the general public. Does this change the position? I
>>> wonder. I have posted this.
>>>
>>> I am having another problem with this image. There is one person called
>>> Pebble101 who is bent on deleting this image from the article.He deleteds it
>>> time and again for no reason. He could be the author of the last unsigned
>>> remark on the deletion page.
>>>
>>> http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Saraswati&action=history
>>>
>>> The problem is there is nothing I can do. When I had such problems
>>> earlier I was asked to go for Arbitration.
>>>
>>> I thought I had to share my concerns with some one.
>>>
>>> Thank you.
>>>
>>> Sankar
>>>
>>> Service to Humanity is Service to God
>>>
>>
>>
>
>
Am forwarding this to the list with Sankar's permission; please cc him on
related mail, since he is not on the list. Also forwarding next related one.
Bishakha
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Sankar Viswanathan <sankarrukku(a)gmail.com>
Date: Thu, Mar 10, 2011 at 10:54 PM
Subject: Discussion about deletion of a photo
To: Bishakha Datta <bishakhadatta(a)gmail.com>
Hello Bishakha,
I am facing a problem. Please go through this discussion.
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Commons:Deletion_requests/File:Mahasarasw…
Unfortunately this would mean that we can not upload the photograph of any
old Indian painting or sculpture to Wiki Commons. Most of the photographs
existing now would have to be deleted.
This will only mean that the articles in Wikipedia would be poorer in
content. Being Paranoid about copyright is not the way to improve Wikipedia.
The most affected would be articles about Hinduism, for which even now there
are very few takers.
I was wondering whether you could help.
Thank you,
Sankar
Service to Humanity is Service to God
India Wikipedia donation story mentioned again ...Looks like the story is
"resonating" :)
http://www.thehindu.com/life-and-style/society/article1561640.ece
"...This week also had the news about India being the sixth largest donor
for Wikipedia with 11,000 Indians donating $193,657. Not a big amount by any
yardstick, but the money has been given by ordinary Indians and not the
rich...."
Regards
Tinu Cherian
Hi there,
I am helping a journo with a story on a national magazine on
Indian Wikipedias. If you are ok giving inputs/ being quoted and is an
active Wikipedian / Admin in the following language Wikipedias ( *Assamese,
Bhojpuri, Manipuri, Gujarati, Nepali, Punjabi, pali, sanskrit, Sindi, Urdu,
Marathi, Kashmiri, Divehi*) , kindly send me a personal mail.
Please send me the link to your Userpage, email and contact
number. Please specify in case if you have no problems in giving inputs but
not comfortable being quoted ( for any reason).
Remember to remove the India mailing list address while replying, so that
your personal details are not publicly archived.
Thanks in advance.
Regards
Tinu Cherian
*The Hindustan Times ( Kolkata edition) : "Wiki wants Women"*
http://epaper.hindustantimes.com/PUBLICATIONS/HT/HKL/2011/03/22/ArticleHtml…
*The international media is abuzz with the gender gap in Wikipedia
contributors around the world. Also, a survey by Wikimedia Foundation shows
that English Wiki has only 13% women editors. To level this skewed ratio,
the Indian Wikipedia community (communities in different languages across
the country) is holding Women’s Wikipedia Workshops (WWW) across several
cities, including Kolkata. Probably a first of its kind initiative, it is
experimental in nature, with future course depending on response from the
first few ones. *
*
*
*“We are trying to understand the cause of this trend, psychological or
technological. Though no statistics support it, one can say half the users
on Facebook are women. There are women bloggers, too. So computer illiteracy
is not an issue,” says Cherian Tinu Abraham, administrator in English
Wikipedia.*
*
*
*“Our goal is to double the percentage of women by 2015, not just in India,
but around the world,” says Bishakha Datta, member, Wikimedia Foundation
Board of Trustees. *
*
*
*However, there is no denying that social networking websites have more
userfriendly applications than Wikipedia. To edit Wiki, one needs to know
syntax, which many say is no rocket science either. “From my interactions
with women, I have observed that they are more users than contributors,”
adds Tinu.*
*
*
*In the Indian context, Bishakha explains, Wikipedia has been organising
workshops at premier engineering colleges, as breaking the technological
barrier there is the easiest. “It is coincidental that men are present in
these institutes in larger numbers. But Wikipedia follows a decentralised
medium, with various languages taking it ahead the way they want to.”*
*
*
*But for now, not more than two-three women attend the workshops, says Tinu.
“Women think this is ‘geekdom’, and not for them. Add to this, women feel
marginalised in using public resources, not taking up things which are ‘out
there’ for all,” says Rimi B. Chatterjee, author, blogger and Wikipedia
contributor. Adds Bishakha, “Visit the ‘discussion’ section of the topic
‘woman’ on English Wikipedia and you will know what I mean.” The section is
holding a stiff debate on which picture is suitable to represent ‘woman’ —
dressed or nude, anatomical or general, etc. Sanhita Gender Resource Centre
collaborated with Wikimedia Foundation to “explore the use of Bangla Wiki to
make information on women’s rights and issues accessible,” says Soma Sen
Gupta, director, SGRC. The city held it’s first WWW on March 18, with 20
women participants.*
Regards
Tinu Cherian
http://wikimedia.in/wiki/In_the_news#March_2011
...Julian Assange (Wikileaks) on Wikipedia , India donations in an
interview to [[The Hindu]]
http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article1559476.ece
*Data has just come out that the people of India have been among the largest
donors of Wikipedia, maybe even WikiLeaks. That data has not leaked yet.
Does that surprise you?*
It is very gratifying to hear. We don't know where they are from. It is for
their protection, so we cannot be influenced by people, except of course to
keep us going. *But I am heartened to hear India is supporting something
like Wikipedia that has goals which are not too dissimilar from us.* That is
why we want to collect important information and present it to the public.
We are trying to go after the hardest case, that is the information of spy
agencies and states that are trying to restrict. And when it is published
they will go after the publisher.
Regards
Tinu Cherian
I really liked both the idea and the way it was worded. Any takers for an
Indian webinar along similar lines?
Cheers
Bishakha
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Frances Kissling <fkissling(a)gmail.com>
Date: Mon, Mar 21, 2011 at 9:35 PM
Subject: [Gendergap] Webinar on editing for Wikipedia Women
To: gendergap(a)lists.wikimedia.org
Thought you’d all like o see this effort
Women Write Wikipedia: A How-To Webinar
Have you ever looked something up in the Wikipedia? Obviously, right? But:
have you ever *edited* anything in the Wikipedia? Bet the answer is “no,”
and that’s a crying shame! Wikipedia, as you know, is quickly becoming the
go-to reference point for our collective history. But, over 80% of
Wikipedia’s editors are men–which means that women’s opportunities to
document history and knowledge are passing us by.
In this hour-long online workshop, WAM!Bassador of Technology Deanna
Zandt<http://www.deannazandt.com/>will teach you the basics of editing
a Wikipedia page, as well as the
cultural norms that you’ll need to know to be a good Wikipedian. It’s time
to make sure that all genders are represented in our brave new history!
FREE. Choose from either
Wednesday, March 23 at 2PM ET
or
Sunday, March 27 at 2PM ET
To register, email Rachel <rachel(a)womenactionmedia.org>.
--
Frances Kissling, visiting scholar
Center for Bioethics, UPenn
202 368 3954
_______________________________________________
Gendergap mailing list
Gendergap(a)lists.wikimedia.org
https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/gendergap
