Discuss Board Meeting

Raw transcript:

Bernhard: November.

Mark: Okay, so just a couple of weeks earlier than

Cindy: when I was at the last smw, con Wolfgang Fall was

Cindy: very eager. And he sent me a message afterwards. After the conference as well.

Cindy: He would like

Cindy: to organize a conference related workshop

Cindy: like at one of these larger conferences, have a workshop on

Cindy: Media Wiki or semantic media Wiki and his vested interest is that he's working in a Phd. Program, and so organizing him as a credential. But he needs folks who have doctorates to lead it, you know, having the credential. And so therefore

Cindy: was looking to me to lead that

Cindy: I haven't really had time to think about it. that's you know. That's a good deal of work.

Cindy: There's a lot

Cindy: in having a you know.

Cindy: an official conference workshop that's past the kind of more

Cindy: I would say, a relaxed type of environment that we have for soliciting and accepting.

Cindy: Contributions and stuff. So I haven't really had the time or been eager. But

Cindy: But if you mentioned, you know, co-locating it something with a conference, you know. That may be something that Wolfgong would be interested in.

Bernhard: no.

Bernhard: because I wanted somebody else to actually do the a lot, you know. Yeah, I mean, I I ask them if if we could do it in our, I think it's an often okay, it's yeah. They would be interested. But it's not this year. And then we're talking about next year. And then, as I said, No, next year's covered. So maybe 2025 and a half, I don't know.

Bernhard: I mean what what I could do. Still, I mean for official workshops in the Iwc. To the deadlines have passed long, so that would not make sense. But still, I mean, maybe they have. I don't know about about about the situation, the room situation, but but maybe they have the opportunity to co-host some kind of a conference that you know is around the same dates or or

Bernhard: and and where people can, you know, join the other conferences something like that.

Bernhard: But I I could imagine that being quite expensive actually, and because those conferences. I mean, they just

Bernhard: they are not like, not not like, I don't know if it's in the so that could be a quite expensive thing to do.

Bernhard: Yeah, and with no one in essence except for the conference organizers, I think it's going to be a lot of work still.

Bernhard: So I'm not. I'm not so keen.

Bryan: What? What is a Phd level workshop look like, I mean, is it?

Bryan: Yeah, I've never been to one.

Cindy: well, it's more the the process of Generally you you write some sort of a position statement in order to be able to apply to attend. So you know, to make sure that the audience of the workshop is

Cindy: you know, invested in the same topic, and you know that all bring some experience to the table, and then generally the committee that's organizing it

Cindy: me to go over all of the proposals and chooses. Who can select who can attend to the attend the workshop. That's one way that I've seen it. Ron. Now, you know, they have different levels of of exclusivity.

Cindy: many of them will

Cindy: be pretty open as far as accepting if somebody shows demonstrated in in attending. But then

Cindy: attends will give a presentation, so that you know everybody sort of says what their position is, and then there might be some sort of combined conversation.

Cindy: it, which is very different than what we do right?

Cindy: so. But I'm not sure that they're all

Cindy: they have. They all have that requirement. I think it. You know we would have to look at whatever the rules are, for whatever conference we're proposing to participate in, because, you know, different ones have different

Cindy: different rules, and

Cindy: you know they want to make sure that they that all of the workshops associated with the Conference have the same kind of structure and editorial control.

Cindy: So it really depends on. Yeah. I haven't looked in many years to see.

Cindy: You know what what the current situation is. It may have changed very well. Also, it sounds like, that's something that Wolfgang should be able to talk about. Then, if you know, he's looking for a particular sort of thing. Yeah, yeah.

Cindy: yeah, he had some specific proposals, but I just didn't have the time to go down that path. So it's something that he was. He really is interested in, you know.

Cindy: I we have. How can I put this? We have enough trouble getting people to present and to attend our conferences, that making them more exclusive is not necessarily going to be a benefit to our community.

Cindy: yeah, is is my feeling Now, if they were to bring additional people to participate because we're at a larger conference, and the people at the conference are looking at things and rejam the list of workshops and go. Oh, you know that sounds like a good one.

Cindy: you know. Maybe they could bring some new people in. But it I it doesn't sound like it's a replacement for what? For? What we're talking about.

Cindy: for for what we typically do.

Mark: what I'm curious Bernard. And in case we have any, doesn't sound like there's any chance of really getting it

Mark: work with Isw this year. But in case we do next year say one to work with them. Do you know when deadlines and all that are

Bernhard: that they are in in in May, or something like that, I think. for the workshops.

Bernhard: but you have a link you can post in chat to this.

Bernhard: I mean, the interesting thing is, there is the the Wiki data workshop we located on the sixth and seventh of November there.

Cindy: So I mean, yeah, that's pretty good.

Bernhard: I mean, it doesn't cost anything to ask. So maybe it will just right now, because we are full. and if they say yes, we can still consider it so maybe maybe I should

Bernhard: right. And because it's I mean, semantic conference would be a great

Bernhard: co-host, please.

Bernhard: Maybe I will do that, and

Bernhard: let's see.

Mark: So

Mark: yeah, that it sounds sounds good. I want to move on to the next thing here because we're we're

Mark: don't want to eat up all the time. What's the I I send you? You posted something about media. Wake you the use of media with you. You have any update on that.

Cindy: I'm meeting with tomorrow to talk about a variety of different things.

Cindy: pertaining to. You know, we've had a reorg, and I'm in a different group now. I'm working for for developer experiences under the principal engineer, and she's the director of product management for both Media Wiki and for developer experiences. And so I'm meeting with her to talk about a variety of different things. But one of the topics that I'd emailed to Selena and Selena had suggested that I run past beer. Get

Cindy: is the naming, you know, being able to use the name Media Wiki for the conferences. I'm not super hopeful.

Cindy: just because my interactions with beer get related to anything embedded in the past when she was the director of tech engagement.

Cindy: We're not super fruitful, you know. Basically, she's like, Oh, you know, she's more more focused on tool developers than volunteer Media Wiki developers, or at least was in the past. She was always oh, no, we're too busy to get involved with that. I don't have time for that.

Cindy: Her focus may have changed now that she is indeed going to be the

Cindy: director of product management for Media Wiki

Cindy: and It looks like, at least for the short term that the actual product manager may be Brian Davis. which itself is

Cindy: interesting because he's an engineer, not a product manager. and I know from personal experience that engineers shouldn't be product managers, but

Cindy: that's a whole other topic. so

Cindy: At any rate.

Cindy: I will discuss the name with her.

Cindy: Selena's hesitation was that calling it meeting Wiki Conference makes it sound like the Wikipedia Foundation should be more involved in it. And then, this time of austerity and travel, and, you know.

Cindy: limiting staff, and you know everybody's pretty much fully committed.

Cindy: you know, not having the resources to devote to hosting 2 conferences a year, and I tried to explain to her that

Cindy: I tend to be involved anyways regardless, and I don't see that the name would necessarily imply that the foundation to have more involvement.

Cindy: so we'll see what beer gets take is

Cindy: You know what I was discussing this, I went up to New York last week, and I

Cindy: I spoke with Muriel and Shotlander, who is now principal engineer for Media Wiki and James

Cindy: and

Cindy: was sort of talking through the idea of the names, and they were sort of throwing around some other alternative names.

Cindy: I still sort of like the idea of mediocre conference. You know, there's always, you know, mediocre stakeholder conference could perhaps be another

Cindy: option. Although we've had problems in the past with people not thinking they really belong to the Media Wiki stakeholders group, and I wouldn't want to do anything, you know, again, if our idea is to broaden the people who feel like they belong at the conference.

Cindy: anything. That sort of restricts it in the name.

Cindy: it's not a good thing. So

Cindy: We also thought about. You know what are some like sort of

Cindy: flashy names, you know Wiki Universe, or you know

Cindy: things like that. So Wiki Conference is already taken. So

Bernhard: hmm.

Mark: I, okay, so. But I I think I think it's good to have the that that is some progress on this. So it's good, it's good to hear that you all are thinking about other names, and because that does open up possibilities, even though I don't like them. But

Cindy: me, either.

Mark: Yeah, I it. It's good to hear that.

Mark: I. So the other things on the agenda I have open right now are

Mark: just

Mark: things that basically relate to Eric and Marcus

Mark: the the co-lab collaboration and updating. You know what we were talking about obligations.

Mark: So I'm going to. I will work on making sure that

Mark: they are all involved in the next week next

Mark: meeting that we have, and I will update the thing

Mark: here that I send out. So

Mark: does anyone So I'm gonna read off this.

Mark: what? What's on the agenda here and let me know if there's anything that needs to change collaboration, because I I think it would be good to talk some more about that.

Mark: And then changing obligations we have. We're supposed to have membership meetings? and we have not had one. So do we actually need to do one or do the monthly

Mark: meetings

Mark: account is that, or can we put those in there.

Mark: Oh.

Mark: and then we need to talk about what counts as a project. you know what the fills are obligations, and once we do that. We need to actually write those down and make sure that

Mark: you know there's agreement

Bryan: real quick for the cloud pad. That's the Wiki based solutions and name for the kind of ether pad editing, or whatever is that right? And then what? What was the ask? Is it just connect blue spice and

Bryan: Wikipedia to there, there we

Mark: there was a connect. There was

Mark: oh, blue spice was Hello, Bill, all right! Said they were already doing stuff on this, and they had done some significant work on, you know, getting the

Mark: basically ether pan working with this or collaborative

Mark: anyway. So there was some in some cross over there, but when we keep Ace brought it up

Mark: and I think it would be.

Mark: you know I I would like to figure out, you know, is there anything happening here? So

Cindy: just one clarification Collab pad was the name given to? I think it was C. Scott who created a prototype based on visual editor in a hackathon a number of years ago. So collapse was actually the name of it's a foundation supported thing. But then, yeah, Wiki based solutions was planning to

Cindy: on that, I guess.

Mark: Yeah. And are there any questions about the because this is something, I added, just without any discussion, any of these meetings. Is there any questions about the membership meeting thing that I mentioned?

Cindy: I think that the Monthly meeting should count as membership meetings, but I don't know

Cindy: officially say something like that. But speaking of that, there's a membership meeting this Friday, and it'd be super great if we were actually prepared for that and have an agenda.

Mark: Oh, you mean tomorrow? Yeah, that is.

Cindy: yeah.

Bernhard: Yeah. interesting enough. I don't have it in my in my calendar.

Bryan: Am I correct. I have it on my calendar.

Mark: It's a. It's the first Friday of every month. So it yeah.

Mark: it should be

Cindy: at 1130. Eastern, a secretary.

Mark: Yeah.

Mark: okay, well, that's a a snap.

Cindy: It is on the

Cindy: but it probably wouldn't be horrible to like announce it somewhere, so that we might.

Mark: So I don't have an agenda, does anyone?

Mark: I I'm so sorry about the well.

Mark: Obviously I'm not that sorry because I didn't do anything. I don't feel too terribly guilty, but

Mark: I am sorry nothing happened. So

Mark: is there anyone who wants to help me put together an agenda for tomorrow?

Bryan: Yeah, I should like, I mean, if we do it now, or I guess we have 2 min left in the meeting here. But

Mark: sure, yeah,

Mark: let's do it now. I'm trying to update this invite right now. But yeah.

Bryan: one more question, maybe for Bernhard. So for event, yay is the is the thought to watch the

Bryan: Wikimedia, and then

Bryan: decide if it seems like worthwhile, or just go for it now and plan for it.

Bernhard: Well, If we, if you do the end of November we still have time to decide. I mean my, my, my first, my first thought is always to to try hoping again, because it worked pretty well.

Bernhard: but this one seems quite cheap, and you know, if it works well for the phone for Wikipedia, then we we should give it a try.

Bernhard: The the problem is, I I would not be able to participate in looking at, because I'm traveling there

Bernhard: so. But

Bernhard: I hope some of you would be. what is it creating it. and then share the experiences?

Mark: you're you're traveling where you're traveling to the Us. Is that what you're talking about? The travel. Yeah.

Cindy: we have the Internet. Here, you are planning to

Lex: can i ask you a question, please.

Lex: do we know of any large university that uses media, we key internally to a larger extent.

Bernhard: If there are several of these.

Lex: because

Lex: couldn't we suggest a mutually beneficial

Lex: conference? So you host us, and we bring expertise

Lex: something like that. It it it sort of drags us away from the commercial side

Lex: into. But

Lex: I I I'm sure this has been considered before. So just let me know what, what, how fruitful these thoughts were.

Mark: I I if there's something there, I I don't know about it, but it would be good to know. Yeah.

Bernhard: I'm not exactly sure what you mean.

Lex: Well, I mean, for example, you have the University of Zurich. They use it in 4 of their faculties, and for administration we call them up and say, we are an association. That sort of gathers Media, Wiki, specialists, practitioners, and so on. And we I want to gather. And we thought we could maybe

Lex: organize the conference at your premises, and we come to your place for 3 days, and you can send your people and your questions and your issues. And we gonna craft a program

Lex: with to from which you can benefit something like that.

Bernhard: Well, that was basically what what was I? What I teach? I think I have a role to 3 or 4 different German is about universities. The only one in Austria I always is a university of in spoke.

Lex: And what what did they respond that they I I didn't talk to them because Austria is going to be next year. So I didn't really consider this book.

Cindy: They are. They are blue spice customers. So they will probably not.

Lex: Oh, okay, directly benefit so much from this. But yeah.

Cindy: when we hosted in Rotterdam.

Cindy: isn't there to

Cindy: I thought that there was somebody from a local faculty who talked or was on the advertising committee.

Cindy: And Eric yon had suggested speaking to Archie. Excel. He's also there.

Cindy: like the other one's 2 years in. But

Cindy: that's okay.

Lex: or attach it to a

Lex: knowledge management concerned

Lex: whatever section or department of a university

Lex: or a or a school something like that pinky back off that.

Mark: Well, that's kind of what we were talking about with the Isw thing, right

Cindy: it on a conference here.

Mark: Yeah, it it would be interesting if anything comes from that. But otherwise I I think right now, the

Mark: the 2 things that we have that we are

Mark: relatively

Mark: sure up or send out an email to the list and say, you know, we're

Mark: if you want to do this and help us, host, this next weekend next year, this year in person. Let us know within the next week

Cindy: there was.

Cindy: Yeah, yeah. Do you want to to bring it to Italy? But

Cindy: those before Covid.

Bernhard: have they resurface.

Cindy: because the that was planned for 2,020.

Lex: yeah.

Lex: But of course, yeah, Covid, then.

Cindy: But yeah, if somebody could reach out to them just to see if they're

Cindy: Still, you know.

Cindy: around

Mark: the person doing the most outreach right now is Bernard Bernard. Do you want to reach out to them.

Bernhard: I can try again, but it's not going to work because I try

Bernhard: you, already spent to try to reach out to me.

Cindy: But I can try again, of course. Yeah.

Cindy: So as far as the agenda for tomorrow's meeting, we can talk about s MW, con. I don't know whether Ger go is coming or will give an update.

Mark: can I ask you?

Mark: I can answer.

Cindy: And then other than that, I guess. Just open. If there's anything anybody wants to talk about.

Mark: So yeah, if you if you can send out that message tonight Bernard, about the next hosting next week, then that would really give us something that substance to talk about

Mark: for tomorrow. This is to wrangle maybe a European into this. but

Bernhard: yeah, sure, I mean, I can.

Bernhard: Okay, I will be there tomorrow. So

Mark: yeah, just send out the email tonight so that you know, we can say, Hey, this Bernard sent us out in last night. So

Cindy: anyway, the other thing I'd like to talk about at a future board meeting not today, but just, you know, sort of.

Cindy: you know. I guess you know Eric's talked about, you know, sort of larger term goals and things like that, and all sort of the composition of the Board, you know, I know that Adam went out on his voting trip, and my understanding is he's back. Maybe we need to reach out to him also to remind him that he's on the board and

Cindy: encourage him to participate again, which would be great, or see if maybe his interest to change

Cindy: So I'm trying to think, who else are we missing today.

Mark: Marcus? And well, there we go. Yeah. yeah.

Mark: So okay, those those are 3 people for me to reach out to

Mark: Where is another one?

Mark: It's everybody right? Yeah, there go. But I was supposed to talk to gear go as well.

Mark: So yeah, Gargo, and then the 3 Abs and board members. All right.

Cindy: Cool.

Mark: and and next next

Mark: the next meeting we will be talking more hopefully about the obligations and that sort of thing, and try to get this

Mark: whole thing in order. So

Mark: okay,

Mark: yeah, all right, thanks a lot. Yo.

Lex: okay, bye, bye.

Mark: bye, bye.