Thread:Communications between WikiFoundation Projects (1)

Hi Randy,

Liquid Threads, eh? not bad, At least it keeps the threads of a conversation together. I should have edited 'Touching base' before moving it here, but it's my first time. Thank yu Eric.

The conversation below really is about "bringing the Comms to a head", which confused Wayne (not surprisingly), so let me explain. meta.metamedia.org is the domain which aims to coord things across the WikiMediaFoundation's (WMF) Projects. You can check out all the "sister"  Projects  at the link TOPage. To me, wikieducator is an aunty project. She's a very nice and patient aunty. (and I don't mean that negatively)


 * Perhaps a better description would be distant cousin -- Aunty assumes we have more life experience and we dont . That said as WMF board member I would welcome better COMs accross WMF projects --Wayne Mackintosh 17:44, 14 December 2007 (CET)


 * No Aunty is the right one. We call the ABC (BBC, CBC equivl) this, so culturally in the Anglo world, it's not too distant. She doesn't lie or cheat or just want to wrap advertising around content. Re: the comms. It's the same on so many other projects - build a library and forget explaining what an article means. I (and more importantly a few very bright geeks) have a cunning plan. We'll see what they have to say (hopefully).--Simonfj 21:18, 14 December 2007 (CET)

You'll find the Communication Projects Group off the index (on the left, in the "community" box). Before that yu might like to note the "Community and Communication" & "core issues and collaboration" Boxes, bottom of the main page. It took me 2 days to get orientated.

You should be aware that every WNF project requires a different account (log in). I won't digress at this time, other than to note that until different projects consider, and work through, how they share (something like) an OpenID, we're not going to see the kind of seamlessness they all want.


 * OpenID ... YES YES YES. I suspect that we will need to raise funding for this.
 * Maybe. Maybe not.

The problem WMF have is trying to coordinate (cross pollinate) between Projects. Our old ideas about co-ord things are a little off when you consider that e.g. this New user log is just for the English Wikipedia. 5 newbies/min. They do have a Welcoming Committee, who offer tutorials and cheat sheets. But the backlog all through is overwhelming. Perhaps this makes the most logical place for offering the Wikimasters tutorials, at least until they're translated.


 * To be fair -- Wikipedia has to manage this challenge at significant scale. It's not easy. Perhaps one approach would be to distribute these loads into national clusters? If you find any of WikiEds tutorials useful -- please use them. They're free content . I'd also like to explore collaboration with Wikipedians under the Learning4Content initiative -- if you have any ideas on this -- let us know. --Wayne Mackintosh 17:44, 14 December 2007 (CET)


 * significant scale Understatement is a wonderful thing. I continue to try and get my head around what WMF communities are doing and have done. Should take only another 50 years. Ta so much for the HP link. Give me some time. You're aware that OpenLearn is thanks to $5m from HP? I'd suggest (Randy?) might want to make a note on the Welcoming committee talk page re offering the Masters. Like always, it's up to a community and I've got so much outreaching to do at present.

Specifically, re: the communications, I'm suggested a forum. I just can't find or see a way for threads of conversations can take place so they don't have to be constantly repeated, so people from different projects can share an idea of what's going on easily, on different projects. I pointed to sitepoint, which is not perfect but might act as a bridge between projects and save the endless FAQ's, beneath the radar. It's not the tool it's the culture, and you'd have to spend more than a few hours on sitepoint to understand why its around No. 250 on the web. Something along these lines in OS, and well designed is required.

It might also help remote groups, some who host courses on various moodles like Openlearn to work through the best ways in which to collaborate.

Look I hope you don't Randy. I just can't do email (regularly) after living on forums and moodles. I just lose my thread, especially when having five way conversations about the same thing. One conversation above the radar helps outsiders get the gist of what's going on, and if they're interested they'll pipe in. The problem in the first instance is orientation, not lack of training.

OK. Enough. Let's hasten slowly, Xmas is coming and it's been a full year. I just wanted to touch base as the WMF should be comfortably in San Fran now, and they're starting to formalize the free for all that's inspired so many (including me). There are an awful lot of threads which have been coming together and are just about touching now. So if you can point me at any strategy doc for WE, please do. I type faster than I think.

And thanks for the first edit on the Open_Education_Declaration. Hopefully it'll be the first of many. regards, simonfj