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Archives: /Archive 1

Tetizeraz's question: Where can I find information about "the landscape of the Wikimedia movement and its structures"?

Hi! I was reading Strategy/Wikimedia movement/2018-20/Working Groups and one of the requirements was "A good understanding of the landscape of the Wikimedia movement and its structures" and I'll be honest, I have no idea where to start reading about it. I know there's Wikimania, the various projects like Commons, Wikipedia, Wikidata, etc. I know there are mailing lists, although I'm not sure how active people are in those mailing lists. Sprinkle some drama (I'm not sure if knowing a little bit about discussions and "fights" is important) I just get lost in a sea of information. Could someone help me know where to start reading about it, and understand more the WMF, the Wikimedia Foundation, and the people involved? Thanks! Tetizeraz (talk) 02:19, 28 September 2018 (UTC)

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@Tetizeraz:, thanks for this interesting question.
Since the Movement Strategy Process focuses on the structures, it should be said that the knowledge you seek is about structures: WMF, affiliates, committees and other bodies. This is the third bullet point explained on the page Wikimedia movement.
The first page that comes to my mind is Wikimedia movement affiliates. This is the first step with basic information. In my (totally personal) opinion, in order to have a "good understanding of the landscape", one should be aware of capacity and budgeting, so I'd recommend reading about Simple Annual Plan Grants (sAPG) program and APG through the Funds Dissemination Committee process. Particularly plans and reports of individual organizations, both newest and older ones. Plus, documentation on collaborations between affiliates. Research papers, e.g. on databases like JSTOR, might be eye-opening.
But this is the obvious, publicly expressed, fairly easily accessible level, and a fraction of total. Observations and conclusions from various comparisons are less obvious, because they haven't been necessarily put into words. There's a huge amount of research that could be potentially done. There is confidential information accessible for some employees, board members or other functionaries. How to learn more, beyond documentation? I'd say: get involved in the governance level of an affiliate and talk with people who have been involved. SGrabarczuk (WMF) (talk) 21:19, 10 October 2018 (UTC)

Bylaws, Section IV.7

Hi, I have question concerning the text of the Bylaws, Section IV.7, "Any Trustee may be removed, with or without cause, by a majority vote of the Trustees then in office in accordance with the procedures set forth in Section 617.0808(1), or other relevant provisions of the Act." What is this Section 617.0808 referred to and where can I find it ? As far as I can see its not specified in the text. Claude J (talk) 16:36, 24 June 2019 (UTC)

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@Claude J: Hi. It looks like "the Act" is defined further up in the page at foundation:Bylaws#Section_3._Selection. (first paragraph) - searching the web for that specific Act name and section number, gives this page as a likely result (although there may be better results, I am not a lawyer). Hope that helps, Quiddity (WMF) (talk) 20:39, 24 June 2019 (UTC)

Yes, thats it, thank you.--Claude J (talk) 05:16, 25 June 2019 (UTC)

Job descriptions of WMF Staff

I've been trying to document certain aspects of the WMF here on Meta, and I've been having some difficulty as a result of the lack of data on the jobs and responsibilities of the various WMF employees. It would be quite helpful if the WMF could provide the list of job descriptions of all current WMF staff. Would this be possible? Yair rand (talk) 06:14, 20 August 2019 (UTC)

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Can you set a specific entry page per user

We are looking to have different login pages for different users, e.g. the business team logs in at 'Business' and the engineers at 'Engineering'. Is this possible? Justinmreina (talk) 05:00, 7 October 2019 (UTC)

@Justinmreina: Hi. This page is focused on the Wikimedia sites. For help with questions related to the MediaWiki software, please ask at the related project, mw:Project:Support desk. Thanks. Quiddity (WMF) (talk) 19:50, 7 October 2019 (UTC)

Ask for a approval for a Oauth app

Dear friends / admin, (and previously approved admins: @Tgr (WMF):, @BDavis (WMF):)

Can you help approve these OAuth apps:

and remove/delete/reject these Oauth apps:

If this is not the best place to notify admins, can you route me to the right one?

Xinbenlv (talk) 22:30, 3 January 2020 (UTC)

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Hi Xinbenlv! The canonical place to post requests is Steward_requests/Miscellaneous#OAuth_permissions. For simple requests anything works (and I get notified about new apps automatically), but since these involve editing protected pages it's probably good if stewards see them.

I'll reject them for now though because you swapped the names accidentally (and somewhat embarrassingly we don't support changing any details of proposed apps, so the only way to fix that is by proposing a new version). --Tgr (WMF) (talk) 23:21, 3 January 2020 (UTC)

...or maybe I'm just confused by the naming scheme. Special:OAuthListConsumers/view/b0885495f14a700cf6051fe5bb236c4d says "on Heroku" but has a wmflabs.org callback URL; Special:OAuthListConsumers/view/c122a589c582777abedab6d24ad9b6ee says "on WMF Cloud VPS" but has a wikiloops.org callback URL. --Tgr (WMF) (talk) 23:25, 3 January 2020 (UTC)

@Tgr (WMF):, yeah, I agree it's quite confusing. Ideally we shall have only 2 apps: 1 for development, and 1 for production. However, the Oauth extension currently only supports one callback URL per app, and in the meantime, this extension does not support editing callback URL or change a few other fields, we end up creating many new OAuth apps. If the OAuth extension supports updating these fields, we can re-use existing onces. For now, could you approve these two, as requested above:

* https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:OAuthListConsumers/view/c122a589c582777abedab6d24ad9b6ee

* https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:OAuthListConsumers/view/3d5ba5ee78059231f7c61dd000c5c26b

Xinbenlv (talk) 23:48, 3 January 2020 (UTC)

@Xinbenlv: What I mean is, the first of those says "on WMF Cloud VPS", but it does not actually seem to be on Cloud VPS.

Out of curiosity, how do you think supporting multiple callback URLs should work? (Making changes to apps is something I hope to fix once I find the free time.) --Tgr (WMF) (talk) 00:01, 4 January 2020 (UTC)

@Tgr (WMF): I realize you are also a team member working on the OAuth extension, that's great. I filed a few feature requests regarding the Callback URL support

* https://phabricator.wikimedia.org/T241867

Regarding, it gives you the impression that they are not on Cloud VPS, it actually is. Per https://phabricator.wikimedia.org/T240414 we are approved to use a public IP so that we can map our application with our domain at `*.wikiloop.org`. The battlefield2.wikiloop.org is an instance that is hosted on Cloud VPS. Again thank you for updating the OAuth @Tgr (WMF):

Xinbenlv (talk) 00:11, 4 January 2020 (UTC)

Done, I think. Thanks for explaining, and for filing the tasks! OAuth is a volunteer project (sadly, no one is officially working on it) but hopefully we'll be able to chip away at some of them at least. --Tgr (WMF) (talk) 02:15, 6 January 2020 (UTC)

How does WIKIPEDIA helps

If I need help on my school work Can i get help

I like this app —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 41.113.34.129 (talk) 23:41, 20 April 2020 (UTC)

Hi, there's a short essay that answers this question on the English Wikipedia at w:en:WP:HOMEWORK. Thanks. Quiddity (WMF) (talk) 16:43, 21 April 2020 (UTC)

Age

Is this Wikipedia good for 12 or above kids or maybe it's only for adults —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 41.113.34.129 (talk) 23:41, 20 April 2020 (UTC)

Yes, Wikipedia is intended for everyone. There is advice for younger editors at the English Wikipedia at w:en:WP:YOUNG. However, do note that the English Wikipedia is not censored as long as the content follows their other policies. I hope that information helps. Quiddity (WMF) (talk) 16:43, 21 April 2020 (UTC)

Nováček.Peter's question

why is wikipedia so much pathological snob ? Nováček.Peter (talk) 23:49, 28 May 2020 (UTC)

If you have a concern about contents on Wikipedia, please see how to resolve Inaccuracies or Disputes. Please also consider civility when phrasing your questions. Thank you. Quiddity (WMF) (talk) 20:30, 29 May 2020 (UTC)

the login wiki

i just want to ask: how login wiki works? Nokiewicz (talk) 13:56, 31 May 2020 (UTC)

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@Nokiewicz: Hi. The documentation at mw:Help:Unified login might answer your questions. If that page does not help and you have more technical questions, then I suggest asking at Tech. Thanks. Quiddity (WMF) (talk) 20:32, 1 June 2020 (UTC)

Admin report

How can I report any admin of Hindi Wikipedia? Wiki 🎮 Play 08:36, 9 June 2020 (UTC)

@WikiGamee: Some basic information about dispute resolution can be found at Template:Answers/Dispute. Further information can be found at Dispute resolution. That information should help you to find the next steps at the Hindi Wikipedia. Quiddity (WMF) (talk) 21:38, 9 June 2020 (UTC)

Edit request to fix 'Bypass your browser cache' boilerplate

Hello. This is an edit request, to update the boilerplate seen at the top of common.js and other pages, which currently starts out: "Note: After saving, you may have to bypass your browser's cache to see the changes," and continues with a list of per-browser instructions. In the second bullet, which currently says Google Chrome please alter it to say Google Chrome / Vivaldi (or the other way round). Vivaldi is based on Chrome, and the reload feature is the same, but the average user probably won't know that. I have no connection to Vivaldi, but I tried it and am a convert; it's tab-handling (among other things) is a definite productivity enhancer. Mathglot (talk) 22:05, 2 August 2020 (UTC)

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@Mathglot: Hi. That content is taken from MediaWiki:Clearyourcache, and would need to be updated within the primary code so that all the translations could then be updated. That change would thus need to be requested via our instance of mw:Phabricator, the bug/feature-request/task-tracking software. However, the question of "which browsers" to include in the instructions would need to be carefully considered, because the more detailed the list becomes, the more confusing it might become for non-technical people (cf. w:en:Usage share of web browsers and the large list of "active" web browsers). You are welcome to create a new task in Phabricator, to explain the request and the nuances. I hope that information helps. Quiddity (WMF) (talk) 19:29, 3 August 2020 (UTC)

@Quiddity:, thanks for the reply. Hmm, yes, I see what you mean. Perhaps it's better just to leave it alone. Or, what about this: we host a page somewhere on mw that explains how to do it for as long a list of browsers as desired; then at MediaWiki:Clearyourcache we leave it mostly as is, except for a small addition to add one link: (''[[Long list of browsers|more browsers]]'') which would limit the translation to two words. If we're going to propose anything at Phabricator, that would be preferable, don't you think? Mathglot (talk) 07:42, 4 August 2020 (UTC)

@Mathglot: Hmm, there are a few of aspects to this that make me hesitant. (a) anyone who is touching their .js or .css is probably technical-enough to extrapolate from the existing list of examples, for whatever browser they are using; (b) the default message string needs to work for all MediaWiki installations, beyond Wikimedia, and I'm not sure what criteria to use to determine when it is worth making a default UI-link that goes "off-site"; (c) a new long list sounds like a future maintenance problem! If it were a highly-sought-after list then it would be worth the time and effort to create it, translate it, and consistently maintain it indefinitely, but I'm not sure how valuable a semi-comprehensive list like this would be? -- However, if after all my hesitations you still think it is a significant problem, then please do go ahead and create a phab task! Also if you notice any outdated elements in the existing text, please file a separate task for that. Thanks! HTH, Quiddity (WMF) (talk) 23:19, 4 August 2020 (UTC)

@Quiddity:, thanks. Comments: a) that's probably the strongest argument (to me). b) not sure what 'off-site' is; I didn't mean an external link outside all wikimedia projects, but a page we host somewhere, maybe mediawiki or meta? c) needn't be; project pages are never "done", and needn't be complete. Also, I was envisioning a table that woudn't need to be translated, except perhaps the column headers ('name' of browser, 'reload', 'iOS' etc. but presumably we have that already?) and the actual table cells would contain yes/no, check-mark vs. x-ed, or green v. red, for features, so that nothing in the table body would actually need translation, and new rows could be added with no translation at all. But all your hesitation is making me hesitant, so maybe I'll just leave it be for now, unless someone else jumps in. Thanks again! Mathglot (talk) 00:40, 5 August 2020 (UTC)

@Mathglot: Thank you! fwiw, by "offsite" I just meant all the other thousands of websites that use the MediaWiki software, e.g. https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/MediaWiki:Clearyourcache -- although now I see from that random example, that they're copying an old version from English Wikipedia's custom-content (w:en:MediaWiki:Clearyourcache), which links to w:en:Wikipedia:Bypass your cache, and whilst that page is very detailed it's also somewhat overwhelming! -- Anyway, perhaps those links will re-inspire you to propose an improvement to the default so that all wikis/languages can benefit! HTH, Quiddity (WMF) (talk) 00:54, 5 August 2020 (UTC)

Alison's question

Hi there. I'm an admin and bureaucrat on the Irish Language Wikipedia. The issue we have over there is relatively simple. When MediaWiki was updated some time back, it changed the Toolbar link to point to Commons only for file upload. This is all well and good, but we have a number of users who wish to upload files - particularly book and CD covers - under Fair Use guidelines. We already https://ga.wikipedia.org/wiki/MediaWiki:Uploadtext have a page] which prefaces Special:Upload in the local language to call out the issues around that.

But the fundamental question is - how do we update the toolbar (not the sidebar) to include a link to Special:Upload, alongside the default Commons one. It would be marked 'Local Upload' (Uaslódáil áitiuil). Anyone any ideas? I can updated MediaWiki space, though I'm a bit rusty :)

Alison ^❤ 00:13, 26 October 2020 (UTC)

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@Alison: Hi. I believe Non-free content is the main page you need to look at. If I understand that correctly, you need to have a local discussion to obtain/verify consensus for this change, and need to write a local Exemption Doctrine Policy. Once those 2 steps are done, you need to link those details within a Phabricator task to request the configuration change (and link the EDP within that meta-wiki page). I suggest looking at some previous requests to see what kind of details are often forgotten/overlooked! E.g. phab:T248971 and phab:T133137 (especially the 3rd comment in the latter - that looks informative). If you have any follow-up questions, I suggest asking at the Tech questions forum which is a bit more appropriate for this type of thing. Hope that helps. Quiddity (WMF) (talk) 17:58, 26 October 2020 (UTC)

@Alison: This is exactly what I suggested here on gawiki on 1st October. In addition to Non-free content policy, I suggested an explanation of the Fair Use policy. If you upload an image onto gwiki (NOT Commons) eg a book cover, then it must have an associated article. A slightly different Notability policy, allowing all ga books, albums etc, is therefore essential. I'm in (daily!) contact with editors of gawiki, and this will be done in the next few days. Lastly, as User:Quiddity (WMF) says, it's important for these discussions to happen on gawiki, as this change - allowing Non-free content - need to reflect this desire of the ga wiki community. Let me know if I can help further. Llywelyn2000 (talk) 10:59, 27 October 2020 (UTC)

@Llywelyn2000: - thank you both for the followup. I was contacted off-wiki about this by some of the editors on gawiki, so hadn't seen the other Town Hall conversation.If policy is getting crafted and agreed up on - then, great! Once that's nailed down, can go submit a request on Phabricator for a change to the wiki - Alison ^❤ 17:59, 27 October 2020 (UTC)

Kevin has now uploaded one of the policies here. Llywelyn2000 (talk) 15:52, 28 October 2020 (UTC)

How to Create a Page for an artist ?

I want to make a page for an artist, can anyone help me ?

White Rainbow Eagle one (talk) 01:24, 13 November 2020 (UTC)

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@White Rainbow Eagle one: Hi. Please see the sections (click to expand) at Answers/Content for information about this. Quiddity (WMF) (talk) 18:11, 16 November 2020 (UTC)

Translation bug?

Hello to all. I am reviewing some pages of a training on the Outreach Dashboard, which transcludes from Meta. Apparently there is a bug in the translation of one of the pages and the code for the div tag appears in the translations, breaking the page there (see here, selecting pt-br as language). The Meta page with the bug is this one. Can someone help me fix this? Thank you in advance! Good contributions, Ederporto (talk) 17:56, 8 February 2021 (UTC)

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@Ederporto: Hi. I cannot see the bug, so I guess you might have fixed this already? If you are still having difficulties, I suggest asking at Talk:Training modules/Translation and perhaps ping User:Ragesoss there. I hope that helps. Quiddity (WMF) (talk) 22:29, 9 February 2021 (UTC)

@Quiddity (WMF): Yes, the bug was resolved after I made an edit and a bot manually reverted, and by doing so, the line of code was fixed. Thank you for your answer, though. Good contributions, Ederporto (talk) 12:47, 10 February 2021 (UTC)

null's question

Does Mets the Baseball team, means anything? 2603:7000:7740:3700:490A:536C:7E5D:3820 22:21, 1 May 2021 (UTC)

Hi. This is not the place to ask questions about content. Please see w:Wikipedia:Reference desk, or consult the Wikipedia article itself such as w:New York Mets#Franchise history which appears to answer your question. Quiddity (WMF) (talk) 20:30, 5 May 2021 (UTC)

PotsdamLamb's question

I have a question about the editor with citation templates. When I select cite, then select a template, fill out all of the fields and click insert, it still shows the depreciated parameters, which then throws an error. Our admin created a script to run to fix these but it doesn't run very often. When will this be changed? Examples are accessdate= should be access-date= and many others that have been depreciated. Thanks, PDL^{Talk to me!}_{OMG, What have I done?} 19:11, 9 June 2021 (UTC)

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@PotsdamLamb: Hi. The best place to ask this question is at the feedback page for the software itself: mw:VisualEditor/Feedback. The people who maintain and/or use the software are centered there, and will best be able to help you (or learn from the answer) there. In your re-post there, it might also help if you could provide any relevant links, such as to which script you are referring to, and any example edits that might help make it clearer. Hope that helps, Quiddity (WMF) (talk) 19:44, 9 June 2021 (UTC)

@Quiddity (WMF) Thank you. I will post there.@Quiddity (WMF) PDL^{Talk to me!}_{OMG, What have I done?} 19:58, 9 June 2021 (UTC)

Unoriginally Named Editor's question

I'm being blocked by an edit filter.

I want to add A to my global userpage, but clicking 'publish changes' gives me a edit filter warning which, for troubleshooting purposes, I copied into B. Please help!

A

I am Unoriginally Named Editor. I have userpages on [[:en:user:Unoriginally Named Editor|Wikipedia]], [[c:user:Unoriginally Named Editor|Wikimedia Commons]], and [[metawiki:user:Unoriginally Named Editor|Wikimedia Meta]]. I apparently do ''not'' have a special userpage on this wiki<ref>Unless 'this wiki' is Wikimedia Meta.</ref>, hence why you're seeing my Wikimedia Meta page. You can [[:en:user talk:Unoriginally Named Editor|request]] that I add a userpage for the specific wiki you're on right now if my lack of a userpage on that wiki bothers you. Feel free to [[https://meta.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=User:Unoriginally_Named_Editor&action=edit| edit this page]], but do not change anything above the horizontal rule. Thanks! <references /> ----

B

This action has been automatically identified as harmful, and therefore disallowed. If you believe your action was constructive, please inform an administrator of what you were trying to do. A brief description of the abuse rule which your action matched is: Global "ntsamr"-pattern spambot filter

Unoriginally Named Editor (talk) 17:28, 21 June 2021 (UTC)

@Unoriginally Named Editor: Hi. In general, technical questions are best asked at Tech. However in this case, I suspect the problem here might be due to your use of the "internal wikilink" syntax for an external link.

I.e. You have written

[[https://meta.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=User:Unoriginally_Named_Editor&action=edit| edit this page]]

Whereas the syntax for an external/full URL like that would be

[https://meta.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=User:Unoriginally_Named_Editor&action=edit edit this page]

I.e. single brackets, and a space instead of a pipe ("|").

Try doing your edit again, with that fixed syntax. If you still have problems, please ask for help at the Tech page. I hope that helps. Thanks, Quiddity (WMF) (talk) 21:11, 21 June 2021 (UTC)

@Quiddity (WMF):I changed it to read like C, but the filter still won't let me through.

C

I am Unoriginally Named Editor. I have userpages on [[:en:user:Unoriginally Named Editor|Wikipedia]], [[c:user:Unoriginally Named Editor|Wikimedia Commons]], and [[metawiki:user:Unoriginally Named Editor|Wikimedia Meta]]. I apparently do ''not'' have a special userpage on this wiki<ref>Unless 'this wiki' is Wikimedia Meta.</ref>, hence why you're seeing my Wikimedia Meta page. You can [[:en:user talk:Unoriginally Named Editor|request]] that I add a userpage for the specific wiki you're on right now if my lack of a userpage on that wiki bothers you. Feel free to [https://meta.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=User:Unoriginally_Named_Editor&action=edit%7C edit this page], but do not change anything above the horizontal rule. Thanks! <references /> ----Unoriginally Named Editor (talk) 15:53, 22 June 2021 (UTC)

null's question

i noticed there is a perk in fallout 4 that allows you to be immune to radation and another perk that allows you to heal from radation if you have both will you techincally heal from radation damage that you cant even take? 173.80.253.167 19:02, 1 July 2021 (UTC)

Hello, this space is for questions where support is needed on participating in the Wikimedia movement, and is not a general forum for gaming discussions. I would suggest a different forum or perhaps the Wikia project for the Fallout series. I JethroBT (WMF) (talk) 19:24, 1 July 2021 (UTC)

Ruggtn's question

Can i ask for support on the wiki i requested? Ruggtn (talk) 10:10, 16 July 2021 (UTC)

Hi. This is not an appropriate location for asking for support or feedback for a new project proposal. Please see New project process for more information. Quiddity (WMF) (talk) 16:54, 17 July 2021 (UTC)

Shushugah's question

How do I change settings to automatically follow/watch pages I edited once? I currently have this setting in English Wikipedia, but would like this setting to be enabled globally for the different WikiProjects I am on, including here, WikiData, dewp etc.. Shushugah (talk) 09:49, 23 August 2021 (UTC)

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Hi. You can do this in your "Global Preferences" page, specifically at Special:GlobalPreferences#mw-prefsection-watchlist with the item near the bottom, "Add pages and files I edit to my watchlist".

There may be a complexity at some wikis if you have ever turned the local Preference on and then off again. I.e. you've over-ridded the wiki's default, and saved a specific personal preference. In that situation, you would need check the local wiki's Special:Preferences page, and make it use the global preference. Quiddity (WMF) (talk) 22:53, 23 August 2021 (UTC)

@Shushugah: Sending ping for visibility. :) Quiddity (WMF) (talk) 22:54, 23 August 2021 (UTC)

null's question

A few uploads I've done of tif files have a second page of all black. Are there any tutorials or guidance on how to convert an image and upload it without a background (read: transparent) and only a single transparent page to wikimedia (using GIMP)? I've used GIMP to make an alpha channel and delete the background. Then locally the image looks like it has a transparent background, but the second page of all black appears for some reason after upload and sometimes a white background appears after it loads in wikipedia. See en:Charles Stewart (New Jersey politician) and File:Col. Charles Stewart signature.tiff as an example. Engineerchange (talk) 04:34, 27 September 2021 (UTC)

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@Engineerchange: Hi. Questions about specific image files at Commons are best asked at commons:Commons:Help desk where other editors with the relevant expertise will be able to find & help you. Quiddity (WMF) (talk) 20:08, 27 September 2021 (UTC)

Joao Xavier's question

Hi! I intend to translate the banner "Wiki Loves Monuments" to Ido language, but I couldn't discover how can I find the link to tranlate it. (The banner which appears whenever someone sees pages in Ido was written in Esperanto, which, of course, IS NOT Ido. I couldn't find the link to this banner here. Where is it? Best regards, Joao Xavier (talk) 21:36, 23 October 2021 (UTC) (pardon me if my English is not so good, 'cause it's not my native language). Joao Xavier (talk) 21:36, 23 October 2021 (UTC)

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@Joao Xavier: Hi. I believe that the page which has the most up-to-date guidance for translators is at c:Commons:Wiki Loves Monuments 2021/CentralNotice. If I understand that page correctly, you should (1) write your translations into the table in the section "Main banner text", and then (2) also write a note on the talkpage there, to (a) explain which country is wrongly receiving Esperanto messages (b) mention that you've added Ido translations (and which country/ies they should appear in), and (c) ping "User:Romaine" in your message there. I hope that helps. Quiddity (WMF) (talk) 23:19, 25 October 2021 (UTC)

null's question

Where do I mail my check to donate to WIKIMEDI? 38.21.37.59 12:39, 8 December 2021 (UTC)

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Please see donate:Ways to Give#Checks & money orders (via mail) for the mailing address. Thank you! Quiddity (WMF) (talk) 18:59, 8 December 2021 (UTC)

null's question

Can you edit your user scripts whilst blocked? 2A00:23C7:3D09:6001:2CF4:D97A:1082:983F 21:01, 22 February 2022 (UTC)

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With the default settings for a standard block, I believe that users can only edit their own usertalkpage. More information is at mw:Manual:Block_and_unblock. I hope that helps. Quiddity (WMF) (talk) 19:26, 24 February 2022 (UTC)

ScottG55's question

I have no toolbar to add a picture or make my headings bold or to change the font. so how would I add a picture to my document on the wiki page. This may be a two part question but is there a way to add the toolbar to my edit section or is there an easy way to add a picture since cut and paste fails to insert my picture. ScottG55 (talk) 18:59, 21 June 2022 (UTC)

Hi @ScottG55. It sounds like you might either (a) have JavaScript turned off (in which case you'd get the bare text-box, per the top row in this table: mw:Editor#Current - If that is the case, then you will need to write the wiki-markup manually. You can use the w:en:Help:Cheatsheet as a quick reference for that), or (b) you might be using an external wiki that is not part of Wikimedia (in which case you'd need to ask the operators of that wiki to change some settings or install some extensions). I hope that helps. --Quiddity (WMF) (talk) 21:21, 21 June 2022 (UTC)

Alison's question

Quick question, and I can't seem to find this one in the archives. I'm Alison, admin and bureaucrat from the Irish Language Wikipedia. We're starting to come to consensus that the machine translation option needs to be enabled only for established users, as the quality of articles that are being ported by non-Irish speakers is causing a lot of problems as they tend to languish, unchecked and unproofed for long periods of time. And machine-translation is not at a point where it can generate articles of acceptable quality yet, so it needs shepherding from actual Irish speakers.

The question is - how do we enable this option? I'm guessing it needs formal consensus from the community, then we need to lobby the devs via Phabricator ticket? Does anyone know what the process is here?

(PIng @TGcoa:, {@Kevin Scannell:, @Llywelyn2000: - FYI.) Alison ^❤ 05:39, 18 July 2022 (UTC)

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To clarify - I'm not just talking about the option to translate, from the top menubar, but also the pop-up suggestion - Alison ^❤ 05:45, 18 July 2022 (UTC)
Hi @Alison. I believe there are many possibilities for changing this tool to better suit each community. This section of the docs – mw:Help:Content translation/Translating/Translation quality#Adjusting the limits – appears to cover in detail some related options/ideas that might be good to consider & discuss (with the team, as well as the local community) as alternatives or in addition to the proposed change, and suggests what information is helpful to supply for the discussion [i.e. example links!]. It also links to the team's preferred central contact location for discussions/questions about that tool. I hope that helps. --Quiddity (WMF) (talk) 20:27, 18 July 2022 (UTC)
Thank you - this is a great start :) - let me get things rolling - Alison ^❤ 06:23, 19 July 2022 (UTC)

Mcm~enwiki's question

Hey--I was talking to someone trying to promote communities in Mayan languages but don't see a wiki in any of those language. Is it possible to start a new language project? Mcm~enwiki (talk) 00:58, 19 July 2022 (UTC)

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@Mcm~enwiki There are a few listed in the sidebar-navboxes at w:Mayan_languages#External_links that are in the Incubator.

For details on proposing a new project, see Requests for new languages.

I hope that helps. Quiddity (WMF) (talk) 01:25, 19 July 2022 (UTC)

Md Nahid Islam Sumon's question

What should I keep in mind to become a good Wikipedia Contributor? Md Nahid Islam Sumon (talk) 15:47, 5 August 2022 (UTC)

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@Md Nahid Islam Sumon Hi. That's a complicated question! It depends a lot upon what skill-sets you have and/or want to improve upon, and what areas/aspects you want to contribute to. Personally, I think that knowing how to find relevant documentation is a good core skill (i.e. being willing to search for, and read, any relevant documentation (and discussions)).

E.g. At the English Wikipedia, a new contributor might be best helped by regularly referring to w:Help:Contents whenever they are uncertain. Beyond that, they might choose to familiarize themselves with the basics of what exists, e.g. by reading the intros and skimming the rest from all the pages in w:Template:Basic information (which is just the tip of the iceberg!). However, there is no singular-definition of a good contributor, and thousands of editors contribute without being aware of many of those pages, because they focus on a specific aspect on the projects.

Also, keep in mind that the policies, guidelines, and people, vary at each of the wikis, so you should research (and perhaps ask followup questions) at the specific wiki(s) you want to contribute to.

I hope that helps. Quiddity (WMF) (talk) 21:35, 5 August 2022 (UTC)

197.16.3.243's question

هل تملك سارين التونسي حساب فيسبوك و انستقرام

Hi. This page is focused on the Wikimedia sites. We are not able to help with this question. Quiddity (WMF) (talk) 23:50, 8 August 2022 (UTC)

Jwale2's question

I would like someone to help or assist with the nav bars on the meta-page [1], where I want home, participate, office hour, articles & friendly space to have a #colour bar showing #1020E1, I don't want the colour to affect the header background. Thanks. Jwale2 (talk) 14:45, 7 October 2022 (UTC)

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@Jwale2 Hi, generally the best place to ask for technical assistance like this is at Tech.

Specifically, from a glance, Template:Portal navigation doesn't currently support having different color selections for those 2 elements.

Also I'd personally but hesitantly suggest just using the default colors, as those should work well with any color-overrides that other people might use (e.g. browser extensions that make a "dark/night mode" via color-flipping).

I hope that helps. Quiddity (WMF) (talk) 22:08, 7 October 2022 (UTC)

Talk:ESEAP Conference 2022/Participants

Hi, I believe a graft (corruption) has occurred within ESEAP Conference 2022. See the above link more a quick summary. Whom or where do I contact to start an investigation? Thanks! Nguyentrongphu (talk) 00:20, 12 November 2022 (UTC)

I've asked someone to take a look at this. They will reply soon (next few days). Thanks. Quiddity (WMF) (talk) 19:26, 14 November 2022 (UTC)

Thanks! Also, I'm willing to provide any necessary information and translation to aid the investigating process. Nguyentrongphu (talk) 00:50, 15 November 2022 (UTC)

Quiddity (WMF) It has been more than a few days. Any update? Nguyentrongphu (talk) 00:45, 20 November 2022 (UTC)

The issue has been resolved. Nguyentrongphu (talk) 00:08, 21 November 2022 (UTC)

Meta Page Help

I Added a new tab called Article list to the Template:Code for Africa Climate Change Project but this does not show on the view page, I would be grateful if I get assistance. Thank you. Jwale2 (talk) 02:46, 23 November 2022 (UTC)

@Jwale2 Hi. Generally the best place to ask for technical assistance like this is at Tech.

However, it just needed to be marked as "ready for translation" (by a Translation Admin) before the changes would show up elsewhere. I've also fixed the problem where someone had changed the translation-marker numbers (those must remain attached to the same chunk of text - it's how the system tracks which translatable-chunk is which), and had manually added a number (we must never manually add those numbers ourselves - the system does it, when a translation admin confirms it is ready). Cheers, Quiddity (talk) 20:17, 23 November 2022 (UTC)

@Quiddity thanks and well noted. Jwale2 (talk) 12:52, 28 November 2022 (UTC)

Andrez1's question

I try to add an RFC (RFC and is told to "Create a subpage with a suitable name, for example Requests for comment/Reforming the RFC process".

I see no option to create a subpage, and this seems to be the same problem as mentioned here.

How is this done, what do I not see?

[copy&pasted signature from another person, removed] — The preceding unsigned comment was added by Andrez1 (talk) 17:40, 2 March 2023 (UTC)

@Baris6161TURK it works just like any other page creation. Just open https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Requests_for_comment/Your_RFC_title in your browser or click on a red wikilink like Requests for comment/Your RFC title or type „Requests for comment/Your RFC title“ in the search bar and then create the page. Johannnes89 (talk) 20:29, 2 March 2023 (UTC)

Sorry for the wrong ping @Baris6161TURK, I should have seen from the section title that this was in fact a question raised by @Andrez1, using a wrong signature [2]. Johannnes89 (talk) 20:33, 2 March 2023 (UTC)

Thank you. Very helpful.

(The missing signature and what brought Baris6161TURK into this i belive is a technical error linked to pushing the Ask public question button on this page. It promised that my signature would be added.) Andrez1 (talk) 14:30, 3 March 2023 (UTC)

thanks, seems like this template edit [3] needs to be fixed. Johannnes89 (talk) 16:18, 3 March 2023 (UTC)

Aha! Thank you for finding that. I've reverted it for now, as it appears the setup for this page requires it.

(Eventually, we probably need to overhaul this page's system (but that requires someone more technically adept than me), and perhaps rethink the entire structure/setup (but I'm in the middle of passing responsibility for it to the Movement Communications team))

I'm sorry I didn't realize earlier where this confusion/bug was originating from. My thanks, to both of you. Quiddity (WMF) (talk) 21:28, 3 March 2023 (UTC)

Wayraycha's question

Hello Can someone create my profile page? Wayraycha (talk) 04:30, 2 May 2023 (UTC)

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Hi @Wayraycha. There are some basic details about userpages at mw:Help:User page. Depending on which wiki you want to create a userpage at, there might be more details - e.g. at English Wikipedia there is a page at w:en:Wikipedia:User pages.

If you are asking about "profile" in the sense of a Wikipedia content-article about a person, please see the details in the help page at the specific Wikipedia - e.g. at the English Wikipedia there is a helpful page at w:en:Wikipedia:Autobiography.

I hope that information helps. Quiddity (WMF) (talk) 20:47, 29 June 2023 (UTC)

Yes how do you find someone to write my Audobiography sence i cannot write my own? 207.11.74.197 00:45, 17 July 2023 (UTC)

Hello @Wayraycha. I believe the recommended place for people to list a topic that could be an article, along with a listing of w:WP:Reliable Sources that could be used to substantiate the details, is at the w:Wikipedia:Requested articles index, specifically within a subpage such as w:Wikipedia:Requested articles/music/Performers, bands and songwriters.

If you have any further questions about the English Wikipedia, the best place to ask is at w:WP:Teahouse, which is a place for newcomers to get help with using and editing Wikipedia from experienced local editors.

I hope that information helps. Quiddity (WMF) (talk) 01:05, 17 July 2023 (UTC)

I’m blocked from participating. Can you unblock me please Wayraycha (talk) 01:22, 17 July 2023 (UTC)

@Wayraycha Unfortunately I cannot help with that. Please see the guide at w:Wikipedia:Guide to appealing blocks for details on the steps needed. Quiddity (WMF) (talk) 01:51, 17 July 2023 (UTC)

Rhododendrites's question

At Wikimedia NYC, we feel that we've become pretty good at running remote events over the past few years, but we struggle with hybrid events. Within the category of "hybrid events" we are perhaps better able to support hybrid edit-a-thons than events more oriented to sharing and discussion, like our monthly members meeting.

It seems this is an extremely common challenge not just in our communities, but in other non-profit and business contexts, too. I was surprised that I was unable to find any resources for affiliates and other event organizers on Meta such as best practices or recommended equipment. Perhaps I'm not using the right terminology.

My question is: has anyone figured out hybrid wiki events? Are there resources and advice available? — Rhododendrites ^talk \\ 00:12, 19 June 2023 (UTC)

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Hi @Rhododendrites. Sorry for the delay. I believe the most detailed page on this topic is WikiProject remote event participation. There are some additional links pointing to other resources at Working and convening remotely but most of that now overlaps with the first link. I hope that information helps. Quiddity (WMF) (talk) 12:11, 28 June 2023 (UTC)

@Quiddity (WMF):. Unless I'm missing something, those are about remote events, not hybrid events. Again, we're pretty good at those; it's hybrid events that we struggle with. — Rhododendrites ^talk \\ 17:42, 29 June 2023 (UTC)

@Rhododendrites Contrary to the title (naming things is hard!), the first link (WikiProject remote event participation) specifies that it is "for either hybrid physical+online or completely online […] events". The details are framed as "remote first", which reminds me of the software development philosophy of "mobile first", i.e. making sure remote-folks are treated as first-class stakeholders (and just not an afterthought). At the least, it's almost certainly the best place/talkpage to either document any new tips/best practices, or to ask questions.

The second link is not as useful, and from a skim probably the best content is the link to the (old) page mw:Meeting best practices (including remote staff) (which should probably be merged into the first link's materials?), which might contain unique tips.

Hope that helps, Quiddity (WMF) (talk) 20:43, 29 June 2023 (UTC)

null's question

Hi im inquiring about wiki itself. It keeps coming across my device. I’ve never been on wiki or know anything’s about it. When i go into what has come up on my device it says my up address is blocked due to editing. I have never been on wiki let alone edited. I do not know much about technology, or wiki to attempt to edit anything. If anyone could please help me I would greatly appreciate it. I’m desperate to get help. This all started a few years ago when my ex has someone install device duplicating apps on a device. Since then the problems it has caused has been overwhelming. Please help. Sincerely, technologically I knowledgeable. 2603:9000:7D03:DA85:550D:B3A1:664E:E149 22:29, 27 June 2023 (UTC)

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I'm sorry to hear that you have been blocked before you could edit. This is unfortunately a somewhat common problem faced by editors connecting through shared or dynamic IP addresses. Some IP addresses, like those used by schools, libraries, and organizations, can be shared by multiple people at the same time. Many internet service providers issue dynamic IP addresses that can be used by different people over time. Because of this, many different people could have edited from the IP address you are currently using.

When people use dynamic or shared IP addresses to vandalize or disrupt Wikipedia, those IP addresses will often have to be blocked to prevent further damage to the encyclopedia. The software that runs Wikipedia can't tell the difference between you and the person the block was intended for, so you end up caught in the block too.

Depending on the type of block, you may be able to edit after creating an account. If the block prevents you from creating an account, try creating it using a different internet connection. If you still have difficulty creating an account, you can ask for help at w:Wikipedia:Request_an_account.

Proxies and VPNs are often blocked to prevent abuse. We ask that you disable proxies and VPNs before editing Wikipedia, if possible.

I'm sorry that you were inconvenienced by this problem, and hope you continue using Wikipedia. You can learn more about our site and how it works at the Introduction page w:Wikipedia:Introduction. I hope that information helps. Quiddity (WMF) (talk) 14:11, 28 June 2023 (UTC)

Three Memorial Cups's question

how do I change a picture of myself?

Three Memorial Cups (talk) 18:25, 8 July 2023 (UTC)

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Hi @Three Memorial Cups. My apologies for the delayed reply. There is some relevant information in the final paragraph within the section at w:en:Wikipedia:Autobiography#Problems in an article about you, and also in the third paragraph within w:en:Wikipedia:Contact us/Licensing.

If you have any further questions about editing on the English Wikipedia, the best place to ask is at w:WP:Teahouse, which is a place for newcomers to get help with using and editing Wikipedia from experienced local editors.

I hope that information helps. Quiddity (WMF) (talk) 20:10, 14 July 2023 (UTC)

ElvisTheMan's question

I had an article I was working on, and I just logged in and it is gone, as well as all the feedback I had gotten on it. Can anyone help me figure out what happened,and whether I can retrieve it? ElvisTheMan (talk) 01:42, 19 October 2023 (UTC)

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Hi. If this is a question about content on a Wikipedia, you can ask for assistance at the local help-desk. For example at the English Wikipedia, w:WP:Teahouse is a place for newcomers to get help with using and editing Wikipedia from experienced local editors.

If the page is no longer visible in your contributions (e.g. Your contributions at the English Wikipedia) then you may need to use the w:Wikipedia:Requests for undeletion process.

I hope that information helps, and apologize for the delay in responding. Quiddity (WMF) (talk) 20:00, 29 November 2023 (UTC)

null's question

How do I login to wikimedia.org with the password I have? I am a donor with a recurrent donation and wish to access my account. 2601:400:8100:3550:8092:7330:31F7:63D7 17:19, 29 November 2023 (UTC)

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Hi. There is information about recovering passwords at w:Wikipedia:FAQ/Technical#How do I recover a password I have forgotten?. I hope that information helps. Quiddity (WMF) (talk) 19:47, 29 November 2023 (UTC)

null's question

Hi, I am trying to understand how are used the creative common licence in Wikimedia.

Here after are tree drawings from the same author and the same source: the French national library.

https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liste_des_barri%C3%A8res_de_Paris#/media/Fichier:La_barri%C3%A8re_de_M%C3%A9nilmontant.jpeg

https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liste_des_barri%C3%A8res_de_Paris#/media/Fichier:Barriere_gare.jpg

https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liste_des_barri%C3%A8res_de_Paris#/media/Fichier:Barri%C3%A8re_d'Arcueil.png

For this three drawings the terms of use of the french national library are the same. You need to pay a fee to use commercially a copy of these public domain artworks!

In wikimedia these artwork are were labellled with three different CC licences, which are public domain, CC-BY-SA 3.0, CC-BY-SA 4.0, respectively. Why is it so? In addition, this suggest that the two last picture could be used commercially without paying a fee, which seems to oppose the rules set by the French National Library.

I really don't understand the logic. Could somebody help me?

158.38.1.161 13:51, 29 February 2024 (UTC)

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Hello, my apologies for the very delayed response. Unfortunately, I cannot help with this question.

Officially: Neither the Wikimedia Foundation nor the authors of articles on Wikimedia sites are able to provide legal advice. I wish I could give you specific feedback on the content you would like to use, but I'm afraid I can not. It is your responsibility, if you intend to reuse content from Wikimedia sites, to determine how the licenses of the content that we host apply to your intended uses.

Informally: The page at commons:Commons:Reusing content outside Wikimedia may be useful, or you might try re-asking your questions at commons:Commons:Village pump/Copyright.

My apologies again for the delay, and I hope that information is somewhat helpful to you, if you see it. Quiddity (WMF) (talk) 19:19, 8 July 2024 (UTC)

Elizium23's question

Greetings all: A user here on Meta (and other wikiprojects) has unilaterally declared the foundation of their "Wikipedia Editors Guild[sic] (WEG)". The link they provide leads to the WMF Movement Charter, and specifically, a section link to the WMF Global Council.

I have reason to believe that this user is not affiliated with the Global Council, and that there is no actual "WEG" organization. This user is running the communications from a personal Yahoo! email account, and acknowledges no on-wiki presence for discussion, no public list of members, and no other contact info.

I've pinged a few members of the Affiliations Committee into the discussion on their personal user talk page. I hope this has a wider audience for scrutiny and determination of purpose here. Thank you. Elizium23 (talk) 23:02, 6 July 2024 (UTC)

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Thank you for sharing your concerns. This is not something I can help with directly, and it appears you have pinged some of the relevant people there already, who can take it further as needed. Regards, Quiddity (WMF) (talk) 19:22, 8 July 2024 (UTC)

Gaismagorm's question

So recently I was bored and reading WMF Global Ban Policy/List, and I have a very important question. Why is one of the ones listed just "Jake Christie of Southern California". Is this some joke or something? Gaismagorm (talk) 13:08, 21 July 2024 (UTC)

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nevermind looks like it's a sockpuppet, just didn't have a userpage linked Gaismagorm (talk) 13:10, 21 July 2024 (UTC)

Masai giraffe's question

How do you let a user know you sent them an email? Masai giraffe (talk) 14:04, 8 September 2024 (UTC)

@Masai giraffe: Hello, normally they will receive the notification, unless they have disabled the notification setting. Moreover, you can leave a notification (e.g. Template:You've got mail) on their user talk page manually. SCP-2000 14:53, 8 September 2024 (UTC)

Thanks it was concerning a declined unblock request but they wouldn’t tell me why. Masai giraffe (talk) 17:20, 10 September 2024 (UTC)

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Trouble changing email address to one I actually have now

Hello sorry if this should go somewhere else, I couldn't find anywhere that made sense. I slide in and out of wikipedia stuff sporadically, as I often only start editing something to fix grammar or typos, or add links to other pages if I didn't know what a term meant (I don't really have time or energy to do anything substantial but I believe in supporting wikipedia by fixing problems I see), but I happened to go through my account settings today and noticed that the current email attached to my account is one I haven't had for almost two and a half years. I attempted to change it to my current email but the link I was sent was somehow really messed up. I would have sent this privately but since the email isn't confirmed, I'm not sure that would even work. As I cannot put a screen shot here, I'll attempt to transcribe the message in text (IP address removed and brackets added by me for clarification).

Someone, probably you, from IP address [IP address], has registered an account "Mismatched shoes" with this email address on Meta.

To confirm that this account really does belong to you and activate email features on Meta, open this link in your browser:

[https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:ConfirmEmail/2e9cf9cabee70af4912ace9f3f042552 /> If you did *not* register the account, follow this link to cancel the email address confirmation:] *1

[https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:InvalidateEmail/2e9cf9cabee70af4912ace9f3f042552 /> This confirmation code will expire at 19:13, 15 September 2024.]

The text in brackets is all part of the same hyperlink in the email, and the addresses themselves were: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:ConfirmEmail/2e9cf9cabee70af4912ace9f3f042552%3Cbr and https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:InvalidateEmail/2e9cf9cabee70af4912ace9f3f042552%3Cbr

I have not interacted with the invalidate link because it was me but when I click the confirm link, I'm sent to a "bad title" page with the body, "The requested page title contains invalid characters: "<"." When I copy the link text portion "https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:ConfirmEmail/2e9cf9cabee70af4912ace9f3f042552 /" it sends me to a "confirm email address" page with the body, "Invalid confirmation code. Check your email, the confirmation link might have been truncated by your email client."

It is important to note that by the time I tried copying part of the text that the code had already expired, but the text here is from the second confirmation email I sent which I tried both before it expired. I suspect it is something to do with "the confirmation link might have been truncated by your email client" but I'm not sure what about the email I'm supposed to check to untruncate it.

Apologies for the lengthy help question, I'm not particularly great with computers and wanted to make sure I didn't leave out any necessary information. Mismatched shoes (talk) 19:59, 8 September 2024 (UTC)

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@Mismatched shoes Hi. My apologies for the delayed response. If I understand the issue correctly, I think what is happening is (1) your email client is adding a partial HTML line-break to the emails (the %3Cbr at the end is an "<" and the text "br"), and then (2) when you copied the link manually, either your browser or the email-client added a "/" to the end.

Please could you try: Re-request the confirmation link, and then paste the URL it gives you into your browser, making sure it doesn't try to add a "/" at the end. That should then work properly.

If that doesn't work, we can try a filing a phabricator bug about the issue, in case it affects anyone else.

P.s. Partially for my own curiosity, or in case it helps find related bugs, which email client are you using that results in the first error? Quiddity (WMF) (talk) 22:42, 16 September 2024 (UTC)

Update????? I happened to try changing it on English Wikipedia rather than here earlier today (which worked) and it auto adjusted or something? I was going to re-request just now and it had already updated as of when I did that. Anyway everything seems to be fine now. Wikipedia email's confirmation link had a nice blue button instead of hyperlink gore so it seems to have come through correctly.

I am on spectrum's email and it was open in chrome for all of these. Mismatched shoes (talk) 00:58, 17 September 2024 (UTC)

2A02:C7C:CC18:E000:484:201F:6362:565E's question

I'm a new user of Wikimedia, but I am having difficulty using templates. I believe I have followed the instructions for set up and installed all necessary files and I can see some templates (e.g. "switch") working, but some templates (e.g. "tooltips") are not found. What needs to be done to fix this? 2A02:C7C:CC18:E000:484:201F:6362:565E 09:25, 11 September 2024 (UTC)

View discussion

Hi. If this is a question about a 3rd party wiki using the MediaWiki software (i.e. not one of the projects listed at wikimedia.org), then please ask your questions at mw:Project:Support desk (or a location listed in the sidebar at that page).

If this is a question about a Wikimedia wiki, please ask at Tech, and clarify which wiki you are asking about, and what you mean by "not found" (e.g. template:Tooltip exists on this wiki, but may not exist at any other wiki, unless the local community has created it.).

I hope that information helps. Quiddity (WMF) (talk) 22:10, 16 September 2024 (UTC)

Ojiu's question

Tại sao các bản mẫu lại không có chế độ trình soạn thảo trực quan? Ojiu 02:52, 22 September 2024 (UTC) Ojiu 02:52, 22 September 2024 (UTC)

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@Ojiu Hello. My apologies for replying in English. Templates can be used for many different things, from simple things for example Template:User tech news/vi, to more complex code-like things for example w:vi:Bản mẫu:Convinfobox. Templates often use software features that are very complex and that require looking at the wikitext itself. For more details, it may help to ask the same question at a Vietnamese project help page, such as w:vi:Wikipedia:Giúp sử dụng Wikipedia. I hope that information helps. Quiddity (WMF) (talk) 19:49, 23 September 2024 (UTC)

Berdea's question

La page "Requests for new languages/Wikipedia Lezgi" est protégée (ne pourrait-on pas déprotéger ?).

Je veux ajouter la catégorie suivante à la page: [[Category:Lezgian Wikipedia]].

idem pour "Requests for new languages/Wikipedia Tuvan", il faut ajouter: [[Category:Tuvan Wikipedia]. Merci Berdea (talk) 09:02, 30 September 2024 (UTC)

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@Berdea Bonjour. My apologies for replying in English. The best ways to ask for help with protected pages like these, are for you to either :

Use an {{Edit Protected}} template at the talkpages directly (Talk:Requests for new languages/Wikipedia Lezgi and Talk:Requests for new languages/Wikipedia Tuvan) for simple edit requests,
Or, ask for help and feedback at Meta:Requests for help from a sysop or bureaucrat.

I hope that information helps. Quiddity (WMF) (talk) 19:06, 30 September 2024 (UTC)

@Quiddity (WMF) Thanks a lot. --Berdea (talk) 21:35, 30 September 2024 (UTC)

ミラへぜ's question

I don't think https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/CheckUser_policy explains this well-enough. But I was wondering if CheckUser is able to permanently store IP addresses of logged account creations.

For example (I learn through examples.), let's say "User A" vandalized a page, meanwhile "User B" is also vandalizing that same page at the same time. Both "User A" and "User B" accounts were created at the same day. If a checkuser forgot to block them and wants to prove they are both the same person, but the 90 days have passed, will they still be able to prove it's the same person by looking at the logs and checking the IP from both account creations?

Thank you, and sorry if this question is long. ミラへぜ (talk) 17:24, 11 November 2024 (UTC)

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This question is for MediaWiki by the way, but the wiki host I'm using and Wikimedia project's policies on CheckUser are almost identical. So, I am asking the question here instead of MediaWiki.

Sorry if I made the question longer. ミラへぜ (talk) 17:29, 11 November 2024 (UTC)

Manlleus's question

It seems Dcirovic can't update the page List of Wikipedias by expanded sample of articles (monthly basis update), is there someone able to do it? Manlleus (talk) 20:10, 18 November 2024 (UTC)

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RoyZuo's question

Is there a search engine for all wikimedia sites? let's say i wanna search "Pizza Hawaii" in every wp ws wikt wd commons... how? RoyZuo (talk) 00:56, 19 December 2024 (UTC)

@RoyZuo https://global-search.toolforge.org/ SCP-2000 12:59, 19 December 2024 (UTC)

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Frequently-asked questions

Business questions (click to expand or collapse)

==Where can I learn more about advertising on Wikimedia Foundation projects?==

The Wikimedia Foundation does not accept advertisement.

The Wikimedia Foundation is not against the world of online advertising or against other organizations that host ads, but it does not believe that advertising belongs in a project devoted to education, particularly one that is driven by the values consistent with a balanced, neutral encyclopedia. The global volunteer community has always felt that advertising would have a major effect on our ability to stay neutral and that ultimately ads would weaken the readers' overall confidence in the articles they are reading. Even if advertisers put no pressure on us to slant articles to their favor, readers may fear that they exert an influence, consciously or otherwise.

In addition, the Foundation has strong views about reader privacy. Current models for web advertising are inconsistent with these, particularly contextual advertising, which reads the content you are viewing. The Foundation also thinks it intrusive to deliver ads to readers based on their geography.

If you'd like to read more about the history of discussions about advertising Wikipedia - including both pros and cons - the volunteer community has written a page about it here.

How can I request Wikimedia support for my charity?

As you may already know, the Wikimedia Foundation is a nonprofit charitable organization with a very specific goal, which is to develop and maintain our suite of online open-content educational resources in all the languages of the world, to be distributed free of charge to the public. As we are a nonprofit organization incorporated in Florida, United States, local and national laws prohibit us from using our funds for anything but this purpose.

If your request is related to our mission, you may wish to review the Grants "Start" page for more information on requesting support.

How can I propose a new project or a new way to do things on an existing project?

We appreciate that you're spending time thinking about ways to improve Wikimedia.

Because the Wikimedia Foundation does not create or curate the contents on Wikipedia or the other sites we manage—this work is done by a vast community of volunteers—we are not able to implement most suggestions directly by email request. Changes to existing projects, like Wikipedia, and new project approval (like new languages for existing projects or entirely new concepts for sites) come from this community of volunteers.

If you want to propose an entirely new project, please visit Project proposals. If you'd like to propose that we create a new language version of an existing project, please visit Meta's "Requests for new languages" page. If what you'd like to propose is a new feature for one of our existing projects, please share your thoughts with the volunteers at that project. There are community forums for ideas and suggestions. Most of our projects have a link on the right hand side to community discussion points, sometimes given titles like "village pump" or "cafe" or "travelers pub." For example, the English Wikipedia discusses ideas and proposals here.

Just as article pages can be edited by anyone, so can these discussion pages. If you're not already familiar with how to edit our pages, the MediaWiki guide on editing can be useful. If you need further assistance, either with editing or with finding a proper home for your discussion, the community maintains a volunteer email response team who should be able to assist. They can be reached at info wikimedia org. Please be sure to tell them specifically which project and in what language you are working on; if you are more comfortable corresponding in languages other than English, they can in many cases communicate with you in your native tongue.

We hope that the community will be receptive to your idea.

If you have a business proposal that is not a new project, a new language version of an existing project, or a modification of practices on an existing project, please contact business wikimedia org.

May I use your logos or trademark?

To find out more about using Wikimedia's trademarks, including whether your intended use is permitted, please see our Trademark policy.

Please do not hesitate to contact us at trademarks wikimedia org if you are not sure whether your use is in compliance with that policy or local trademark laws.

May I use your software on my own site?

We welcome and encourage you to do so! MediaWiki is free server-based software which is licensed under the GNU General Public License (GPL). MediaWiki is an extremely powerful, scalable software and a feature-rich wiki implementation that uses PHP to process and display data stored in a database, such as MySQL.

The MediaWiki homepage should have all the information you need to install and use the software for your own purposes. While the Wikimedia Foundation encourages people to use the software for their own purposes, we are not able to provide training in the use of the software or answer questions about it, but the volunteer community is frequently able to help. If you cannot find the answer you seek about using MediaWiki software at the help page on the website, there is a support desk where you can ask specific usage questions at the Support Desk. You can also reach assistance through IRC or email at the avenues listed at The "Communication" page.

May I reuse text or images from your sites?

Note: If you are interested in hosting a mirror or downloading considerable content from one or more of our projects, see "May I mirror or copy your sites? instead.

The Wikimedia Foundation actually does not own copyright to most of the content on Wikipedia. This material is generally owned by the volunteers who create content on the site who liberally license it so that it can be used on our sites and elsewhere. In principle, most of the text on our sites is subject to the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License (CC-By-SA) and can be used free of charge for any purpose. A specific permission for use is not necessary, as long as the license conditions are observed. Some text is also available under the GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL).

Images are identified as being subject to any of several licenses. Therefore, if you want to use an image, it is advisable to check the image information page for the source and/or licensing information. Clicking on the image will lead you to the image information page. Most images are free to use as long as you give the proper credits and follow the terms of the license indicated on the image description page.

For more information please see our Terms of Use -- Licensing of Content, section 7(g). There is another page on our websites that may also be of us. While written by the volunteers who create and curate content on our sites, Commons:Reusing content outside Wikimedia may offer more information specifically related to media.

Please note: Neither the Wikimedia Foundation nor the contributors of content to Wikimedia sites are able to provide legal advice. We wish we could give you specific feedback on the content you would like to use, but - unless it is one of our logos or rare content generated by our staff - we cannot. It is your responsibility, if you intend to reuse content from Wikimedia sites, to determine how the licenses of the content that we host apply to your intended uses. If in doubt, you may wish to contact an attorney licensed to practice in your jurisdiction who has familiarity with intellectual property law.

May I mirror or copy your sites?

Note: If you are interested in using only a small amount of content from one or more of our projects, see "May I reuse text or images from your sites?" instead.

Since sharing information is a key part of our mission, we welcome and try to facilitate the spread of our content. You are, of course, welcome to link to our website in the traditional sense that you inform your readers of its existence and offer them the option to visit our website for further information. However, we do not support live mirroring (remote loading or hotlinking) of our websites. Given our unique copyright situation, it's actually better for you to host a text dump of earlier versions or locally hosted copies of our articles (see this section). For downloadable dumps of Wikipedia article database, see the database downloads page. You may also be interested in the Mediawiki API.

Questions about the Wikimedia Foundation (click to expand or collapse)

==How can I tell if a "wiki" or other website belongs to you?==

Because "wiki" is a generic term that may be used by anyone, there is sometimes confusion about which websites the Wikimedia Foundation hosts. Beyond this, other sites may use MediaWiki software—which is free and open for anyone—and therefore look similar to our projects. The only projects which are part of the Wikimedia Foundation are those listed at the "Our Projects" page.

If you're trying to identify who owns a website that does not belong to us, you may need to look for a link on the site that indicates it is "About" the site or use a WHOIS tool.

If you should happen upon a website that uses the Wikimedia Foundation's marks or indicates it is hosted by the Wikimedia Foundation but that is not on the list, we would appreciate you letting us know at answers wikimedia org.

How can I learn more about job opportunities at the Wikimedia Foundation?

Thank you for your interest in working for the Wikimedia Foundation!

Job openings are listed here. If you see a job that looks like a good match for you, please click on it to read a more complete description. Information on where to send your resume will be included in the description. Usually, there is a link at the bottom that says "Apply Now."

If none of the jobs currently listed there seem suitable to you, please keep an eye on that page. New job openings are listed there routinely as they become available.

What are the Wikimedia Foundation's major values and beliefs?

The Wikimedia Foundation believes that all people everywhere should be afforded equal access to information. It supports network neutrality and the free culture movement. It believes in the need to conquer the digital divide, which results in the economic or cultural marginalization of individuals with limited access to technology. It respects the rights of human beings to basic privacy and dignity. The Wikimedia Foundation also believes that the environment is important; it strives for sustainable business practices.

The Foundation holds that censorship is incompatible with its mission. In May 2011, when the Board of Trustees passed its resolution on dealing with controversial content, it affirmed that "Wikimedia projects are not censored." Curating knowledge for an international community of all ages will certainly mean the display of materials that some may find offensive or upsetting. The Board supported the principle that users should be able to choose what content to access and encouraged the responsible curating of content so users might reasonably expect what they will encounter when viewing a page or using a feature, but continued in its explicit support of access to information for all.

Questions about content (click to expand or collapse)

==How do I contact the people or entities that are written about on your sites?==

While the websites we maintain host articles about a wide number of people, companies and corporations, we do not hold contact details for them. Contact details may be included in the article about the subject or in links provided within the article. If not, you may wish to use a search engine or other resource to try to locate this information. As an organization that relies almost entirely on the good will of volunteers, we do not have the resources to research inquiries of this nature.

How do I find out more information about subjects on your sites?

Since content on our educational projects is not created, reviewed, or controlled by a central authority, but by members of the public volunteering to help out, we are not able to offer more information about the subjects on our sites via email. As an organization that relies almost entirely on the good will of volunteers, we do not have the resources to research such material.

However, you may be able to get additional information on the site itself. Many languages of Wikipedia host a "reference desk"—an online resource where various volunteers do try to answer knowledge-based questions. The English Wikipedia's, for instance, is located here. You can find a long list of reference desks in other languages in the bottom of the toolbar on the left side of the page. Though there is no guarantee that they can provide an answer, they are often able. Please be specific in your question so that others can better assist you.

Anything you post to the Reference Desk will become public. Therefore, we do not recommend that you post personal information such as email addresses or phone numbers. Generally, once you post your question you can check back on the webpage in a day or two to see if volunteers have been able to answer you.

How can I report misuse of my copyrighted content on your sites?

We're sorry to hear that you've encountered this problem on our site. Unfortunately, the Community Advocacy team, which answers questions here at the Hub, cannot assist directly in content takedowns. The Wikimedia Foundation does not create or curate content on our sites; rather, this work is done by a vast community of volunteers.

There are several approaches to having content removed if it infringes your copyright.

First, you can reach out to our designated agent for a DMCA takedown request (see this page for more details). You can reach our designated agent via email at legal wikimedia org. If you'd like to review our DMCA policy, it is located here.

Alternatively, you can reach out to the community of volunteers directly to request content removal. They are available via email at info-en-c wikimedia org. Wikimedia sites, including Wikimedia Commons, do not have a central authority, but the volunteers who work at these email addresses are experienced users who know policies and processes and can assist you with such requests.

Please do not send requests to both addresses, as this may delay handling of your request. You should either process your request through the legal team at the first address or through the courtesy queue staffed by volunteers.

How do I report inaccuracies in content on one of your projects?

Our projects are "wikis", which means that anyone visiting the site can edit or add to most pages. In most cases, if you believe that content could be improved, we ask you to address it on the site yourself.

First, you can edit almost any page directly. You don't need to apply or get special permission to join us. At the top of each page is an "edit" label. Try it for example at the sandbox on the English Wikipedia. You don't even need to log in to edit, although creating an account gives you more options and helps you keep track of your contributions. You can create an account on our educational projects by pressing "create account" in the top right corner.

Our projects are open to volunteers and encourage people to pitch in. You can generally find information on how in the sidebar of each project. The English Wikipedia's Introduction and Tutorial are useful reading for how to edit MediaWiki software, if you choose to contribute directly.

Please note that while contributions are welcome, the volunteer communities who create and curate content do have policies and guidelines which they have crafted to which content must adhere. These will vary according to the project you are editing and can generally be read by following the links on the left side of the page on a given project. For instance, the policies that govern Wikipedia ask that you remain neutral in your prose and provide reliable sources to substantiate the information you add. Content that does not meet local policies may be modified or removed.

If you do not wish to correct the issue yourself, you can raise your concern for review by members of the community. Each page on our projects has an associated "discussion page" or "talk page"; you can access this by clicking the "discussion" link at the top of the page. You can then voice your concerns by selecting the "new section" link in the tabs at the top of the page. You will see two text boxes for you to write in: one for a title for your note and one for the note itself. (See the MediaWiki help page on talk pages if you would like more information on using them).

If other contributors are not receptive to your note or edits, there are dispute resolution processes you can follow on the sites. You can frequently find more information about these by pressing the "help" link found on most projects in the sidebar on the left. If you cannot find the dispute resolution processes on a given project, you should be able visit the help desk or community portal to ask local volunteers on that project how to proceed.

In addition to dispute resolution processes within a specific project (like the Wikipedia project that is concerning you), there is a cross-wiki discussion point called "Meta" which is intended to coordinate work across projects. If a particular project is having internal issues that the local community cannot overcome, it may be possible to reach out to other Wikimedians around the world for assistance there. The process used for this is called "Requests for Comment". We recommend being as concise possible in explaining the issue and offering clear "diffs" or "links" to pages and edits that exemplify the issue. It will be helpful to show the Meta community where members of the local community have tried to resolve the problem and failed.

In some cases, it may be appropriate to reach out for information or assistance to the volunteer email response team at info wikimedia org. The volunteer email response team receives a large number of emails every day, and they do not have the capacity or the mandate to help with most minor corrections or standard content disputes. They may be able to assist people in special circumstances, however. Before writing, it's a good idea to check on the project where you are encountering difficulties to see if there are specific instructions for contacting volunteers on that project or specific information on how they may be able to help. For instance, the Dutch Wikipedia page on their volunteer email response system includes specific details for what to do in various circumstances. (You may be able to locate this information on other projects by pressing the magnifying glass in the search bar, typing "OTRS" in the box, and pressing "Help and Project Pages" beneath the box.) Some projects include that information in the link on the left labeled "Contact page". (See, for example,the English Wikipedia's "Contact us" page.)

If you do choose to reach out to the volunteer email response team, please keep in mind that our projects have no central editorial board. While volunteer responders are chosen from among the volunteer community by other volunteers for their experience on the projects, they can only act in accordance with the community-created policies and processes of the projects they serve. In some very exceptional circumstances, they may be able to help you directly, but, if not, should often be able to help you determine the best way to proceed.

If contacting the volunteer email response team, please clearly explain the issues you are encountering and, if you are writing the general address, please specify the language and project where you are experiencing the issue (for example, French Wiktionary; Russian Wikipedia).

Questions about participation (click to expand or collapse)

==How can I donate my own copyrighted content to your sites?==

Thank you for your interest in donating content to our projects!

In accordance with our Terms of Use, our projects are able to accept previously published content that is compatibly licensed with the project to which you wish to add it. (See, specifically, section 7, "Licensing of Content").

The volunteer community who create and curate the bulk of the content on our projects have crafted processes for facilitating such donations. Recommended steps on the English Wikipedia can be found at Wikipedia:Donating copyrighted materials. Several other language Wikipedias have pages describing the process; you can see the list of languages in which it is available and access those by clicking "languages" in the left toolbar. Specific information on donating images and other media files can be found at Commons:Email templates. If you have any questions on donating copyrighted content not answered at those pages, you may wish to consult the web-based "help desk" on Commons or use the "Help" link in the left toolbar to locate a help forum on the project to which you wish to donate. You can also write to permission wikimedia org.

How can I help with translating content to other languages?

Wikipedia relies on volunteers who generate and maintain all content as well as creating policies and guidelines to govern the site. It is a collaborative project, with people from all over the world bringing their skills and interests to join in the compilation and dissemination of knowledge to everyone, everywhere, free of charge. The other projects we maintain are also collaborative, crowd-sourced projects that rely on volunteers. Translation is a volunteer-driven activity on our websites, just like content creation.

A general approach to translation from English Wikipedia to other projects is provided here. This approach is likely to succeed on most projects with most languages. If you want specific advice from other volunteers, you can reach out to the "help" or community discussion forum on the project where you want to place the translation. These are generally linked from the side of every page. If you can't find it, you can write to info wikimedia org for more information. Please, in that case, specify the language project where you want to work (for instance, Italian Wiktionary; French Wikipedia).

If you are interested in helping to translate official documents used for management of Wikimedia projects, this work is also done by volunteers. Meta's "Babylon" page is a good place to begin. There is a section there on getting started which includes some important links, and there is also a section on communication that tells you some of the best places to get in touch with other translators, who may be able to give you specifics about the work. We recommend reading the tutorial linked from the "getting started" section before beginning, if you choose to pitch in, as the system actually looks more complex than it is.

Questions about research (click to expand or collapse)

The following information is transcluded from Research FAQ page.

I want to understand the Wikimedia research community

Who manages the research community?

No single person or entity manages or directs the Wikimedia research community. Much like the Wikipedia community, the research community is composed of many different, self-directed entities with a common interest in better understanding the Wikimedia movement and its projects.

Even within the Wikimedia Foundation, the largest organization in the Wikimedia movement, no single person or team has primary responsibility for all research.

Who is involved in the research community?

Participants in the research community include:

The Research and Decision Science group in the Wikimedia Foundation:
- The Research team and its formal collaborators
- The Design Research team
- The Product Analytics team
- The Movement Insights team
Various staff members at Wikimedia Deutschland
Academic researchers and students interested in Wikimedia research
Wikimedia contributors interested in research

How do I communicate with the research community?

The best way to communicate with the research community as a whole is to use the wiki-research-l lists wikimedia org mailing list. You can also use the #wikimedia-research^connect IRC channel, but you may not get an answer to a general question because IRC is meant for live conversations.

Where can I meet members of the research community?

The Wikimedia Foundation Research team hosts a monthly office hour using video chat.

Wikimania, the yearly Wikimedia movement conference, is attended by many members of the research community and usually has many sessions related to research. Many other Wikimedia conferences exists; some may include members of the research community or research-related session.

There are several scholarly conferences with dedicated tracks on Wikimedia research or a long record of publications in the field. The best research on Wikipedia and other Wikimedia projects today happens at conferences such as CSCW, ICWSM, OpenSym, WWW.

What does the Wikimedia Foundation Research team do? Can it support my team’s data analysis needs?

The Wikimedia Research's mandate is to help design and test technology informed by qualitative and quantitative research methods and produce scientifically rigorous knowledge about Wikimedia's users and projects. Examples of projects led by the Research team include:

models to detect missing citations (blog)
recommender systems for expanding Wikipedia across languages
multi-faceted approaches to characterizing reader behavior (blog)
guidance of how ethics and human-centered AI should be incorporated within Wikimedia

The team can provide guidance on metric definitions, experimental design, statistical and methodological support on an ad hoc basis. Individual Audiences teams are responsible for data analysis and metric definition for their corresponding audiences. You can contact the R&D team via our (internal) department mailing list research-wmf lists wikimedia org.

What does the Wikimedia Foundation Design Research team do?

The Design Research team (DR) supports iteration of concepts and functionality toward a usable and intuitive experience for users. It also provides guidance to other WMF teams via a range of qualitative methods including, but not limited to, usability testing. See the team page how to submit requests for the team. The team also conducts generative research and collaborates with Research and Data and other teams in order to help define what products and user experiences at a high level should be built (and why) for specific types of users, based on their needs. You can contact the DR team via our (internal) department mailing list research-wmf lists wikimedia org.

I have a question about Wikimedia projects that I want answered

Where do I find Wikimedia statistics and metrics?

Wikistats is the best location for learning about high-level statistics like the number of active editors or unique devices. The numbers in Wikistats are the most vetted and "official" available.

Many other dashboards and reports are also available. For a list, see Statistics. Note that these dashboards may not be as closely vetted as Wikistats is and should be used with care in high-profile situations.

A journalist has asked me for some data. Who can I talk to?

If you need help handling a question from a journalist, please contact the Wikimedia Foundation's Communications team at talktocomms wikimedia org. If necessary, the team knows how request support from the various researchers at the Foundation.

How can I recruit a researcher to investigate my question?

Realistically, there are far more questions than there is time to answer them, so it's likely that you will not be able to find anyone willing to take up your question.

If you would still like to try, you can email the wiki-research-l lists wikimedia org mailing list. You can also add your idea to the research ideas board on Phabricator; students and volunteers looking for projects to work on sometimes look there for ideas.

If you want to try investigating the question yourself, check out the section of this page on help with your own research.

I want to pitch a new project to Research and Data, what should I do?

The Research and Data team partners with other teams in the organization, community members and academic researchers to design and run projects that typically span multiple months of work. In order to engage with the team, your project will likely be:

a minimum of one or two quarters in projected time frame
ahead of specific products or interventions being designed or tested

If you think your project meets these requirements, you can contact the team via this mailing list: research-wmf lists wikimedia org or by creating a Phabricator task in the backlog of the Research board. If you are looking for audience-specific metrics and statistics, please get in touch with the respective team's product owner.

I want to conduct my own research on Wikimedia projects

What data is available for my research?

There is a vast array of publicly-available data about the Wikimedia projects. A detailed list can be found at Research:Data.

Additionally, the Wikimedia Foundation collects some data for private use by highly-trusted researchers who have signed non-disclosure agreements (NDAs). In general, this category only includes staff of the Wikimedia Foundation, staff of other approved organizations such as Wikimedia Deutschland, and formal collaborators of the Wikimedia Foundation Research team. For more details on this private data, see Analytics data access policy. For details on how to propose a collaboration with the Wikimedia Foundation Research team, see their page on formal collaborations.

Does my project need approval?

Most research is conducted independently, without knowledge by or approval from the Wikimedia Foundation. Rarely, the Wikimedia Foundation will provide practical support for certain research projects, such as projects that require access to non-public data. Researchers may not claim any support, approval, or special privileges from the Wikimedia Foundation unless they have a signed, written agreement with the Wikimedia Foundation that says they do.

Observational research generally does not require approval from anyone. Interventional research projects may require cooperation from the affected communities. Before beginning an interventional research project, we recommend disclosing it at a community forum, such as the local community's village pump. You should be prepared to engage in discussion with community members and, if necessary, to modify your research plan based on their feedback. Some communities require such disclosure and discussion.

Can the Wikimedia Foundation financially support my research?

The Wikimedia Foundation sponsors research projects of strategic importance in the form of grants. Grants can be issued to individuals and organizations alike and can be awarded via calls for participation or directly allocated in the case of research commissioned by the Foundation. More information on different types of grant, and the corresponding requirements, can be found on this page. Research sponsored by a grant from the Wikimedia Foundation is subject to the terms of our open access policy.

Can the Wikimedia Foundation write a letter of support for my grant proposal?

The Wikimedia Foundation does not directly participate, unless in exceptional circumstances, in grant applications or research consortia as a partner institution, due to legal and financial constraints that come with restricted funding. However, we are happy to support individual research projects of particular strategic importance by providing formal endorsements. Letters of endorsement are signed by a C-level or by their delegate, they form part of a formal collaboration and are subject to the terms of the Wikimedia Foundation's open access policy.

Can the Wikimedia Foundation help me collect data for my study?

As a general rule, researchers at the Wikimedia Foundation have little bandwidth to provide data collection / data analysis as a service, outside of the scope of formal collaborations. We are always happy to provide guidance and recommend the appropriate tools, data sources and libraries for a given study on an informal basis. The best way to get support is to post a request to wiki-research-l (for anything related to research design, methods, state of the art on a specific research topic) or to analytics-l (for data sources and APIs maintained by the Wikimedia Analytics Engineering team). You can also get support via the corresponding IRC channels, irc:wikimedia-research and irc:wikimedia-analytics. If your request is about recruiting participants for a survey or study, see the corresponding question.

How do I get special API privileges for my research?

You can access the MediaWiki API to retrieve data from Wikimedia projects with the standard permissions that are granted to your registered username. For most types of data you will not need any kind of special privilege. In some cases the Wikimedia Foundation can grant special permissions (such as high API request limits) on a temporary basis to individual users for research purposes. When these privileges are granted by WMF staff, they form part of a formal collaboration and are subject to the terms of the Wikimedia Foundation's open access policy.

How do I release a dataset?

Releasing open data about Wikimedia projects for research purposes, while respecting our privacy and data retention policies, is in line with Wikimedia's values and mission to disseminate open knowledge. To learn more about publicly-available, open-licensed data about Wikimedia projects visit Research:Data. There is also a community-created collection of wikimedia datasets on Hugging Face. If you are in a team at WMF dealing with sensitive data, before releasing a new dataset, particularly data obtained from private sources and/or containing personally identifiable information, it is mandatory to consult with the Legal and Security teams. The Research and Data team can provide best practices on how to publish and document the dataset, once its publication has been cleared by these two teams. The release of data from Fundraising is subject to additional restrictions due to our donor policies: before publishing any reports including anonymized or aggregate data from Online Fundraising, please review these guidelines and obtain explicit approval from the team.

I want to run a survey, how do I get started?

The Learning and Evaluation team maintains the Survey Support Desk – a one-stop shop for anything related to surveys in the Wikimedia context for Wikimedia Foundation staff, Wikimedia affiliates, and volunteers. The team also maintains and provides access to survey platforms used by WMF. The Design Research team can provide overall guidance and support to other teams at WMF on survey design. The Research and Data team can provide guidance on best practices on strategies for participant recruitment on-wiki. All WMF-run surveys must be reviewed by the Legal team -- see this internal page for more information.

Surveys run by academic researchers need to meet community expectations before participant recruitment can begin. Creating a research project and discussing the proposed recruitment strategy on wiki-research-l are good, preliminary steps towards successful recruitment of participants for a study. There aren't any global policies regulating third-party research or mechanisms for large-scale subject recruitment, but best practices have been discussed in a number of contexts. en:WP:Research and en:WP:SRAG are the product of the joint efforts of the research community and the English Wikipedia community to try and satisfy two goals:

Create a mechanism for mass subject recruitment
Protect the community (and individuals) from the disruption that mass recruitment could cause

Along with these two documents, a few essays are available as tools for educating Wikipedians about research:

Do I need to acknowledge WMF in publications?

If your work has been supported in some way by the Wikimedia Foundation, a Wikimedia affiliate, or a Wikimedia community member, we encourage you to consider acknowledging them in your publications referring to specific usernames, groups or organizations for their specific contributions to your research.

If your work was supported by the WMF Research Fund we suggest using the following acknowledgement (Grant IDs can be found in the respective project's Grant or Research Meta page):

This research is supported [in part] by the Wikimedia Foundation’s Research Fund under Grant No. [grant ID]. The authors would like to thank [specific individuals or teams] at [the Wikimedia Foundation, another Wikimedia affiliate, or the Wikimedia community] for [help provided].

I want to learn about current research findings related to Wikimedia projects

Where can I learn about current research projects at WMF?

We run a weekly, cross-departmental research group every Thursday at 9:30am PT to discuss research in progress, present early results or get feedback on the design of new projects. The meeting is regularly attended by members of the Research and Data and Design Research teams, analysts with various Product teams and from Learning and Evaluation but it's open to anyone in the organization interested in participating. We also host more formal, public presentations on a monthly basis via our Research Showcase and at Monthly Metrics meetings, which you can attend in person if you're in the SF office or watch online via YouTube.

Where can I learn about existing research on a specific topic?

There are several places where you can learn about previous and current research. The most comprehensive resource covering research on Wikimedia projects is the Research Newsletter. The newsletter is a collaboratively maintained monthly overview of new research, edited by Tilman Bayer and Dario Taraborelli with contributions by several volunteer reviewers. It has been published monthly since 2011 and has a fully searchable archive. You can also follow the latest research updates hot off the press via the @WikiResearch handle on Twitter, by subscribing to wiki-research-l or by attending the Wikimedia Research monthly newscase (also available on YouTube). The Wikimedia Research Codex is a complementary effort to summarize past research by organizing it by topic instead of by date; it in currently in progress, and topics are prioritized depending on team needs.

I want a job researching Wikimedia projects

Are there any research and analytics jobs at the Wikimedia Foundation?

Current openings for part-time and full-time positions in Research, Analytics Engineering and Product are listed on the Wikimedia Foundation's jobs website.