Wikimedia Quarto/5/En

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We are looking for reports, stories, and great images or other media for Quarto #5 (covering July 2006 through January 2007). Please post abstracts or outlines of content to the draft page for this edition; when they have taken shape, you can add them directly to the appropriate page below. Note that there may be draft items that should be moved to Quarto #4. For more general Quarto links, see the Quarto meta-page


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Wikimedia Foundation logo





Wikimedia Quarto

Found Edition October 2005



Template:WQ-5-langs

Board of Trustees

Jimmy Wales, Founder
Angela Beesley
Michael Davis
Florence Nibart-Devouard
Tim Shell
 

 
Staff

Editor-in-Chief
  Samuel Klein
Executive Editor
  Florence Nibart-Devouard


Contributing Editors

Contributing Designers
Layout [MH]
Print Layout [SL]

Contributing Writers
+/-

Contributing Proofreaders
+/- English Copyeditors:

Contributing Translators
+/-

 
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--WQ

 



 
Table of Contents


Cover: Panorama from Basra

Welcome, Table of Contents . . . . . . 1
Letters from the Founder & Board . . . . . . 2
Quarterly Reports . . . . . . 3
Out of the Projects . . . . . . 4
Chapter Notes
Interview with Jacques Chirac . . . . . . 5
In the Media . . . . . . 6
International Notes . . . . . . 7
Endnotes, Gallery, Editorials . . . . . . 8



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Letter from the Founder

 

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Jimbo Wales speaking at FOSDEM 2005 in Brussels, Belgium.
By Chrys.
To be replaced with an image from Wikimania!
Letter from the Board
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Wikimedia Foundation Reports


 
Epicyclic gear


Overview

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Multilingual error messages finally implemented !

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On the 28 of september, Mark Ryan announced that multilingual messages had now been implemented on the Wikimania squids. Here is an incomplete list of those in IRC who helped with translations: taw, Mackowaty, WarX, SuiSui, aoineko, Submarine, Rama, Frieda, Quistnix, galwaygirl, Fenix, mnemo and avatar. Particular thanks must go to fuddlemark for extensive Javascript help, and to Jeronim for implementing the new message across the squids. Everyone's help has been greatly appreciated.  :)

Now, we just hope not to see these messages too often...

There are currently nine active Wikimedia projects. "Language count" below refers to the number of languages with at least five articles.

  • Wikipedia (encyclopedia, since January 2001): 189 languages, 53816 editors, 1.8M articles, 30.5M internal links [1]
    English : 433781 users, 729767 articles
    German : 128291 users, 289025 articles
    Japanese : 28113 users, 140986 articles
    French : 39351 users, 161792 articles
  • Wiktionary (dictionary/thesaurus, since December 2002): 161 languages, 1585 editors, 311 K articles [2]
  • Wikiquote (quotation collection, since July 2003): 84 languages, 841 editors, 20K articles [3]
  • Wikibooks (textbook/manual collection, since July 2003): 118 languages, 1874 editors, 20K articles [4]
  • Wikinews (news portal, since November 2004): 13 languages, 456 editors, 7,500 articles [5]
  • Wikisource (primary source repository, since November 2003): 50 language portals, 457 editors, 28K articles/documents [6]
  • Meta (Wikimedia coordination, since November 2001): 33 language portals, 1009 editors, 4.8K articles [7]
  • Wikicommons (Media repository, since September 2004) : 938 editors, 17K articles, 60K media files [8]
  • Wikispecies (Species directory, since September 2004) 77 editors, 5.5K articles [9]

 



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Out of the projects reports and essays



Behold! our many, darling, youngling projects.

Wikinews state report

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by SonicR

English and German-language beta-versions of Wikinews started in December 2004. Now there are Wikinews versions in 14 languages. The last versions which have started were Serbian and Japanese. The three largest ones are English, German, and Polish. In August 2005, 1.000 users were registered on de.wikinews. After adjusting the article namespace, the German version draws near the milestone of 2.000 articles (1689 articles on August the 4th).

News sites and blogs reacted sceptically towards Wikinews right after its start (an example). One of their main arguments was that the Wiki-principle will not work on a news site. At an encyclopedia, such as Wikipedia, articles can be developed and improved without any pressure of time. This is unlike news sources, where an article has to be published close to the event the article is about. Furthermore, they noticed the lack of original reporting in Wikinews. Because Wikinews cites news agencies and articles from mainstream news sites like BBC News or CNN as sources, it could not (yet) be considered as an alternative news source.

However, de.wikinews has made a positive development. The number of new articles written per day has increased. According to Erik Zachte's statistics there were more articles written per day on de.wikinew than on en.wikinews for the first time in June 2005. Moreover, the quality of the articles is quite solid. Events which play a major role in the coverage of the mass media are covered by Wikinews, too. Besides, users have established coverage of events and topics which reflect their interest. Compared to most other news sources, users decide which events they cover, answering their personal interest and not the brief of an editorial staff. This could lead to an interesting and multifaceted range of topics as the community grows.

Events which received massive public interest and media coverage, such as December 2004 Earthquake in Southeast Asia and the London bombings, have especially shown that a wiki works well as a news site. Many users participated in the collaborative and fast process of writing and improving the article. Blogs and news sites have commended these articles because they were written from a neutral point of view, were matter of fact, and gave a good overview. An advantage of Wikinews is that it can be used as a free news archive. Since the first writing contest on the English version was a success, helping to increase the number of new articles per day, there will be an international writing contest soon.

To spread articles containing original reporting through different versions of Wikinews, WORTNET was created. The article OhmyNews citizen reporters meet in Seoul, Korea, about a citizen reporter meeting, in which Erik Möller participated for Wikinews, was translated into Dutch, German, French, and Spanish. Dresdener WOBA soll verkauft werden - Mieter verbittert is an example for original reporting content on de.wikinews.

Statistics and articles on Wikinews

Please see Wikinews newsletter for the original text in German. --SonicR 12:21, 4 September 2005 (UTC)[reply]

Wikinews finally decided of a licensing scheme !

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The Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 License was the most supported license in the recent poll at <http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikinews/Licensure_Poll>.

Many of the options had very few voters. Of the options with more than 12 voters, the GFDL had only 21% support, and the Wikinews License 0.2 had 60% support (or 64% from Wikinewsies). Fewer people voted on the Wikinews License option than on the Creative Commons one, meaning 31 people in total supported CC-BY, compared to just 17 supporting WNL 2.0.

With over 87% support from Wikinewsies in the poll, and 82% support overall, CC-BY has now been agreed upon by the Wikimedia Foundation to be the new license for all existing and future versions of Wikinews. Any edits made previously remain public domain - it is only new edits that will need to be under this Creative Commons License.

The license can be read at http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5/ (that page links to other language versions of the license, and the full legal code).

Brion has changed the site settings, so the meta data of the wikis should state they are now CC-BY. However, manually created pages such as http://en.wikinews.org/wiki/Wikinews:Copyright will need to be updated. MediaWiki namespace pages may need changing if they had been edited previously. Pages that might need changing include: MediaWiki:Copyright, MediaWiki:Copyrightwarning, MediaWiki:Copyrightwarning2, MediaWiki:Copyrightpage, Project:Copyrights.

Wikipedia increasingly used as book source

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Report by Nicholas "Zanimum" Moreau

There's more coming, don't worry.

As of September 13, 2005, Amazon.com has scanned 227 books either referencing or discussing Wikipedia. Not all of the books are necessarily non-fiction classics by any stretch of the imagination, but the statistic is still quite an impressive display of Wikimedia's popularity.

A great amount of topical books use Wikipedia as a source, from scientific matters like Tsunami: The Most Terrifying Disaster, to pop culture trends like Secrets of the Code: The Unauthorized Guide to the Mysteries Behind The Da Vinci Code (presumably the first book sourcing Wikipedia to be reprinted).

Self-help gurus have helped themselves to our free content, including Approval Addiction: Overcoming Your Need to Please Everyone (ISBN 0446577723).

Some authors have less of a hold on the English language than others. Marci Hamilton referred to the Simple English Wikipedia for information on terrorist, referenced in her book God vs. the Gavel: Religion and the Rule of Law. Simple English Wikipedia is meant solely for translators and those who do not know English well, such as EAL learners, children, and the mentally challenged.

Perhaps most interesting of all the books was Morgan Spurlock's May 2005 fast food exposé Don't Eat This Book: Fast Food and the Supersizing of America. While he's accused of sensationalism is much of his work, Spurlock has instantly become one of the most profilic documentarians in the world. This is very much so true.

For the complete list of books, see Wikipedia as a book source.


Topic $&

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Page 5

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Chapter notes


 
Flaming coxktails

see WQ/Retro


Overview

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The seed is giving fruit: after the creation of Wikimedia Deutschland and Wikimedia France, local chapters are flourishing throughout the world. After the creation of Wikimedia Italia in June 2005, it is the turn of Wikimedia Polska (Poland) to take flight. In the boiler, Wikimedia Srbja (Serbia), Wikimedia Brasil, Wikimedia United Kingdom, Wikimedia România and Wikimedia CH (Switzerland). In order to keep in touch with these exciting new comers, the Wikimedia Foundation appointed Delphine Ménard as chapter co-ordinator. The position, defined during a board-local chapters meeting during Wikimania includes the following tasks: working with the Chief Financial Officer on financial matters concerning the chapters and acting as a liaison between the Foundation Board and local chapters by ensuring information flow.

Wikimedia Poland

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By Polimerek

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The chapter represents the Polish and Cashubian Wikipedias and other Polish Wikimedia projects. The act forming the association was signed by 26 Wikimedians during the Wikimedia Polska 2005 Meetup in Kraków, which took place on August 14, 2005.

During the Meetup we have adopted our preliminary version of our bylaws, elected the association's authority bodies (The Board, Revision Committee and Internal Court) and discussed the future shape and goals of the Association.

After some negotiations with the Wikimedia Board we have made several changes to the preliminary version of the bylaws. Now (08.09.2005) all paperwork is finished and the application for formal registration was sent to the Registration Court in Lodz, on September 16, 2005.

Although the Association is in its organisation phase, we have already started our wiki-based webpage [10], mailing list [11] and IRC channel. Feel free to contact us through any of those media.



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In the Media
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Sony Center at Night, Berlin.
By Tillea.


In the media

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Authors...

Press coverage of Wikimedia projects in the second and third quarter of 2005 ...

Positive

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  • The project inspires us. Wikipedia is more than an encyclopedia. It's more of an attempt at collecting all knowledge about the world. The fact that it's being created by amateurs doesn't make it bad - if they write enough articles, they become professionals. And when they are not limited by space, enthusiasts can present all knowledge on every possible topic. I'm not afraid about the future of printed encyclopedia. The cinema did not kill the theatre, the television did not kill the cinema, and the Internet did not kill books, so the future of classic encyclopedia also seems safe. - Bartłomiej Kaczorowski, the editor-in-chief of PWN (Polish Scientific Publishers) Encyclopedia [12], the biggest Polish encyclopedia ("Ozon" magazine, August 18, 2005 [13])

"On the fence"

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  • Edgeler, Graeme. "Wikis at the Gate: Academics dissent over use of Wikipedia." Canta. October 24, 2005.
    • "An increase in students using the on-line encyclopaedia Wikipedia in essays and research papers is causing concern among academics… [Victoria University law lecturer Dean] Knight is concerned that Wikipedia "should not be used as a shortcut for actual research," but recognises that it may be appropriate to cite Wikipedia "where qualifications as to its integrity are less important.""

Not so positive

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Unusual

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Call for Help appearance

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More coming Canadian press contact Nicholas "user:zanimum" Moreau recently filmed a segment on the G4TechTV show Call for Help, on 19 October 2005. In the five-or-so minute interview with host Leo Laporte, Nick discussed many benefits and issues surrounding the project, though he lacks any specific memories of what was discussed. Laporte was extremely supportive and positive about Wikipedia; his radio show is actually supported by a wiki-based site.

While Wikipedia has been mentioned on a few shows, both as an example and a source of more information on the topics discussed, the previous time Wikipedia was discussed at length was show 71, first aired September 16, 2004.

The episode will first air in Canada on November 12, and then debut in the weeks after in the United States and Australia.

Or maybe it won't, because that's a Saturday. Where is my episode??? -- user:zanimum



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International

 

 
Moraine_Lake, Canada


Conferences

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By law

whole section --> pg 5?

Wikimania 2005 - The First International Wikimedia Conference was held in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, from 4 August 2005 to 8 August 2005 at the Haus der Jugend (Youth Hostel). It gathered 380 participants (speakers and attendees) from more than 50 different countries and representing all continents. Over three full days of conference on various topics, Wikimania provided an opportunity to meet and talk with people at the forefront of the Wikimedia communities and wiki software development. Researchers and speakers presented studies and experiments on Wikipedia and other projects operated by the Wikimedia Foundation, on wiki culture and technology, and on the world of free knowledge. The programme included a range of presentations, workshops, and tutorials, aimed at newcomers and oldtimers alike, to give for the first time a concise overview of the current state of research on wikis and free knowledge projects.

The primary goal of the conference was to bring together the communities of the various Wikimedia projects and to help them improve their understanding of one another. It also allowed the Wikimedia community to meet with people working on different softwares and projects butsharing the same goals and values of broadening the access to educational content and bringing free knowledge to the world. Workshops included a wide range of topics, from purely technical issues to educational practices and insight on the wiki-world and community. Keynote speakers included Ward Cunningham, inventor of the wiki-software, Ross Mayfield, who presented solutions to use the wiki in a corporate environement and Richard Stallman, who talked of copyright and community. Jimmy Wales presented his culture manifesto


An endless deployment of press, both German and international, covered the event. More than 120 journalists, from the major newspapers, the main national TV channels and a good number of radios were there, keeping participants and speakers equally busy with interviews.  

Getting involved

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Wikimania 2006

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By Nicholas Moreau

needs updating post-decision... in next iss.

While various international bids for locations in the UK, Canada, and Romania have been proposed, only one bid has been formally submitted as of September 8, 2005. Wikimedians from Toronto, the provincial capital of Ontario, and largest city in Canada, is proposing the University of Toronto be the site of the second annum of the event.



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Calendar

See also Calendar.

July

date title

August

date title

September

date title

October

16 Jimmy at Depaul University, Chicago, Illinois (Colloquium talk about Wikipedia and Wikinews)
20-23 Jimmy in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil (ICML9)
28-29 Jimmy at MIT, Cambridge, Massachusetts (Emerging Technologies Conference at MIT)

November

December

January

date title

February

date title

March

date title


Gallery
 
Kalø Castle in Denmark, build in 1313.
By Malene Thyssen
 
A rich gold sari and woven fabric.
By Hautala
 
Westminster Tube station on the London Underground.
By ChrisO

<--

 
Buddha figure overgrown by fig in Wat Mahatat in Ayutthaya historic park, Thailand.
By Ahoerstemeier
 
Root Canal procedure: unhealthy tooth, drilling, filing with endofile, rubber filling and crown.
By Jeremy Kemp
 
A bee collecting pollen at the Del Mar fairgrounds.
By MarkSweep
 
Nuclear detonation from the "Tumbler Snapper" test series.
By Deglr6328
 
Costumed musicians in New Orleans during a Mardi Gras festival, 2003.
By Infrogmation
 
A dolphin surfs the wake of a research boat on the Banana River - near the Kennedy Space Center.
(Photo from NASA). By Solipsist
 
A Sawfly orchid in St. Elm, Mallorca.
By Orchi
 
A 2.5 kg brick is supported on top of a piece of aerogel weighing only 2 grams.
(Photo from NASA). By rian0918
 
Schematic illustration of an egg.
By Horst Frank
 
180° panorama of Alhambra court yard.
By Bernd Untiedt
 
Cherry tree in spring bloom.
By Barfooz



Opinion


Creative Commons -NC Licenses Considered Harmful

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Report by Erik Möller

When the Creative Commons project published its first licenses in December 2002, it finally brought a sense of unity behind the free content movement. Instead of many scattered licenses, creators now have the option to pick the right license for their work using a simple tool. They only have to answer basic questions like: "Allow commercial uses? Allow modifications?"

The tool then recommends one of the licenses developed by the Creative Commons team. They are legally sane, simple documents, specially adapted for various jurisdictions. In short, the Creative Commons project has made life a lot easier for everyone wanting to share content.

One particular licensing option, however, is a growing problem for the free content community. It is the allow non-commercial use only (-NC) option. The "non-commercial use only" variants of the Creative Commons licenses are non-free, and in some ways worse than traditional copyright law -- because it can be harder to move away from them once people have made the choice.

There may be circumstances where -NC is the only (and therefore best) available option, but that number of circumstances should decrease as the business models around free content evolve. The key problems with -NC licenses are as follows:

  • They make your work incompatible with a growing body of free content, even if you do want to allow derivative works or combinations.
  • They may rule out other basic uses which you want to allow.
  • They support current, near-infinite copyright terms.
  • They are unlikely to increase the potential profit from your work, and a share-alike license serves the goal to protect your work from exploitation equally well.

...


Hopefully, Creative Commons will contribute to the effort of educating content creators that the seemingly simple choice of forbidding commercial use is not so simple at all.

Erik Möller 2005. This article is in the public domain. Feel free to use it for any purpose. It is also a living document whose editable main copy resides at http://www.intelligentdesigns.net/Licenses/NC. You are encouraged, but not required, to include this notice.




Ancient pyramids of stone

  ...


(...that wedgelike cleave the desert airs)