User talk:Austin/Archive I

welcome to your second life. wait, no... that's another universe of addictive wheel wars. but welcome back to Meta. :) Sj 02:41, 12 February 2006 (UTC)Reply

Greetings! I have been tasked by the board of the Wikimedia Foundation to select the initial membership of the newly-created Fundraising committee. Your qualifications in this area have convinced me that you would be a perfect candidate for membership. If you accept this nomination, then do nothing. If you would instead prefer to be an advisor, consultant, volunteer or not involved at all, then please move or delete your name accordingly at Fundraising committee. Thank you. --Daniel Mayer 04:13, 19 June 2006 (UTC)Reply

You don't have an email address or any other means of contacting you here. If you're going to organize things, you need to have that. Thanks. 24.20.177.147 07:51, 16 July 2006 (UTC)Reply

In the toolbar you'll find a link titled "E-mail this user"; a little deduction will also leave you with the working address <ahair@wikimedia.org>. Thanks for writing. Austin 00:19, 12 August 2006 (UTC)Reply

Can we interpret your statement here as an approval from the Chapters committee (which required as stated at the Step 3 chapter creation guide) - since we are starting to organize our founding assembly. Thanks ^^ ~Rex^{••talk••} 10:50, 11 July 2008 (UTC)Reply

I've put up the lyrics to I Will Revise at a page in my userspace. Let's work on it and add a second verse and then move it into the main namespace. —mako๛ 11:51, 16 July 2008 (UTC)Reply

I just found this photo again and remembered the smell of a certain courtyard... -- sj | help translate |+ 09:34, 7 May 2009 (UTC)Reply

If only Germans knew about duct tape, the whole system would have worked so much better. Austin 03:42, 8 May 2009 (UTC)Reply

Hi Austin, could you help with this query? Thanks AndrewRT 23:12, 18 October 2008 (UTC)Reply

Hi!I'm a active user of pt.wiki and Meta.I want to participate for the Chapters Comitee.What do I have to do?Thanks,Tosão 21:10, 23 February 2009 (UTC)Reply

Sorry.Wrong comittee.Tosão 18:36, 24 February 2009 (UTC)Reply

Hello, A month ago on the WikiMeeting in Kyiv we initiated the process of creation of Wikimedia Ukraine chapter. On the 9th of March the draft Bylaws was published and then discussed. We have the draft translated in English. The English translation probably needs some minor changes.

The draft is already signed (electronically - so far) by 17 Ukrainian Wikipedians.

We plan to organize the next WikiMeeting in Kyiv to sign the bylaws and then submit it for the state registration. Probably I need to read the Information for Future Chapters, but I have no access to this private article.

My contact details are: cell phone +380 67 505 1201 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting              +380 67 505 1201      end_of_the_skype_highlighting, email: director at apitu dot org dot ua --Perohanych 18:50, 4 April 2009 (UTC)Reply

Hi Austin: Unfortunately, nor Lucien leGrey, Neither me will be present at Berlin. Nevertheless, I have some news to the chapter's assembly: Today has been the last day for ellections to a provissional board of the future spanish chapter, as required by the spanish law, and the candidature has passed the poll. You can see the results here. We are also committed to end bylaws in 2 weeks, more or less. Now we are in final discussion and legal revission, as well as translation of modifications. So the bylaw draft have yet reached a wide consensus, and we don't expect major modifications. There is a list of about 60 putative associates, with a very highly active mailing list and IRC channel. So, we hope to become a chapter as soon as possible, and we are also highly committed with this goal. The initial president ellected of the future Wikimedia Spain is Lucien leGrey.

Proudly:

--Gustavocarra 22:51, 15 April 2010 (UTC)Reply

Here goes your special feathered message from the most obnoxious tiny bird (Occitanicus Lanius senator) of the Wikipedia wildlife: Capsot...

To speak overtly (this is my style, some people can tell you, I am not a really talkative person but I firmly believe in justice and equality), I don't like covert moves. My opinion and ways are not shared by the other members of Amical and the mischievous moves of some of you have threatened and damaged their structure. So now, more good news for the people who hate us (or bad news actually since I won't have to refrain to sing more of my enchanting ballads... Hey after being some kind of mockingbird I could become a songbird!), I got out of Amical. I did so since I do not appreciate at all to appear as some kind of radical, or fanatic person. Joan Gomà, its president is a really nice person -well he is Catalan, he is always trying to find some kind of compromise nicely... but I am not that kind...- (well I realized on Saturday that some people may hate me more than they hate Gomà; I am glad they do not have my picture to play darts with it; sorry about the nightmares, guys, but I am far from done!).

Joan is the kind of person that after being robbed and beaten finds some comfort and pleasure in having kept his underpants; and the rest of Amical are generally moderate and they are afraid that some unquiet or restless moves (mine in general) might bring an end to their dream to have some kind of superstructure, be it Chapter or not, that will help them promote and improve their many actions and projects (I am afraid Amical may very well prove to be more productive than many well established Chapters... with so little money and scarce official support; this may be bothersome for some of you as well, I understand...). I resigned yesterday from Amical and then I am free to fly again without constraints or boundaries.

Seriously the Movement Roles can't simply pretend they are talking to or negotiating with Amical and send them at the same moment a lawyer from the Wikimedia Foundation. I expect nothing from this, in the long run (because this process will be delayed the best some of you can...) Amical will get nothing worthwhile, minorized languages do not interest some established Chapters and even scare them because they threaten the hegemony of fundraising among other things...

Let me tell you that as time passes by, the more I am getting frustrated and annoyed by the attitudes of some parts of the Wikimedia Foundation and some of its institutions, among them especially the Chapter Committee which seems more eager to get personal power and influence, and also plot than to working on projects... After receiving some kind of juridical threat/attack (see the kind and heartwarming letter at the end of this message) that came from the newbie Spanish Chapter (it is way too strange, and sad, to witness that the first act of a newly found Chapter is to attack an Association, a lesser one, working in the same project!), Amical just received another mail from Geoffrey Brigham (man I am real sorry that your first mission after joining Wikimedia is to try to put Wikimedia CAT behind the bars... and not the nicest meaning of the word bar...), the General Counsel of the Wikimedia Foundation.

Amical's president, Gomà seemed really sad about it and was not allowed to tell the content of the mail (I guess it is the same kind of legal stuff that was used by our Spaniard friends at the end of their caring letter; see at the end of the cited letter) but well you do not need to have a PhD in Quantum Physics to understand what can be written there when you know it comes from a lawyer just a few days after the threatening mail received from Wikimedia Spain. Actually to me it's just the same as when I see a policeman; man I am quite sure he won't ask me for an autograph! Another interesting point, it is also funny in some ways to see how hypocrisy is commonplace, that an organization that fights in order to free contents sends secretive mail that cannot become public...

I am really puzzled, does the Wikimedia Foundation, and its newly appointed lawyer, have nothing more interesting to do than to annoy/attack or crush its most diminutive part, that is, a group of Wikipedians which get no funding from the Wikimedia Foundation (so corruption is really limited here!) nor possess the opaque ways of the Chapter (our people send constant reports and I wish everyone did the same...) and has a very limited power or influence (we however have a nearly total support from our community!)?

On the contrary I know that a lot of wikipedians are really upset with their Chapters (I was in Gdansk and heard Harel's intervention which was ignominiously ignored by the vast majority of the Wikimedia Foundation/Chapcom members present there who left the scene, much to my astonishment..., I thought you were here to listen to the base of the movement and cared to hear about what is going wrong, in order to try to fix it...), I can understand it too well and I have heard some rumors of really bad practices and high suspicions of some kinds of corruption... Then wouldn't it better to try to establish transparency there, to make some audits from time to time before losing time and energies (yours and ours) with us? Aren't you afraid that some Chapters might become totally independent from the Wikipedias or the Wikimedia Foundation (actually many people there do not even care to edit anymore and their sysop rights are renewed even though they had no activity)? Aren't you bothered by the fact that the Chapcom chose the husband of one of its prominent members in the Board of Trustees? Is the phrase "conflicts of interests" ignored up there? Do you need me to have it written down with its definition in the Wiktionaries, so you can read it if you find some spare time, when you are not busy editing, if you really are interested?

And well, since there is a Movement Roles supposedly trying to define new guidelines for non-Chapter organizations among other things (which would be in my opinion the visible hand which is open) and at the same time legal procedures on their way (which is the hand hidden behind the back with a butcher's knife), no need to say I do not trust the Wikimedia Foundation anymore just like I did not trust much the other inferior structures (needless to say I never trusted the Chapcom even though I think there are honest people there but they do not wield the power... and I sincerely wish they will one day for the sake of our institutions!). However allow me to say that a person like Jimmy Wales has my total confidence and allegiance for I know too well what he created out of nothing, and even though some may have discussed his role I won't... (so you see I'm not such a jerk, or bad person after all...). Criticism is always the easier part, doing and creating are way harder! Moreover I had the opportunity to see some of the Board in Gdansk and well most of them have my respect even though I am afraid they might be frightened by conflicts... Some other people, members of parallel institutions, on the contrary acted overtly in violent ways (Gomà in his positive style would say "with passion") shouting out like a female fishmonger (sorry to use an Occitan and maybe French cliché).

Up to this moment the ugly moves were really stealthy and safe and our hidden enemies could always say: "let's keep them on complaining or whining they are just a paranoid bunch". But the sheer truth always comes to light after some time, and well even though our nemesis include a supposed intelligent aquatic mammal and an alleged good mathematician I guess they are no good chess players. After being so eager to have a Spanish Chapter, mainly in order to counter the creation of Wikimedia CAT, attacks finally became blatant; if you do not believe me you can take a close look to the Spanish letter or even ask personally our Catalanophile friend Geoffrey if he did not send any mails to Amical... So where are the paranoids now?

So, my next suggestions are what should be your next, dictatorial, steps: 1) Erase this message so people won't know the current practices of the dark side of the Wikimedia Foundation 2) Block my account, and say I am a troll, so I won't bother anyone any more with my messages or worse try to send me to jail or send a hunter after me before sending me to a taxidermist and make a trophy out of this poor bird in some of the Wikimedia foundation meeting rooms (I apologize if my plumage is not colorful enough for this place...).

So, please, bring me to martyrdom and let the Catalan people know, and all these stateless minorities you are not willing to allow to get a Chapter (a huge number of Wikipedias actually...), hear the truth and realize that as long as they won't be independent they will get nothing worthwhile. However I would advise you to try to end this ridiculous playwright for the sake of the Wikipedias and each and every institution of the Wikimedia Foundation.

Who knows, maybe in the future, new countries will thank the Wikimedia Foundation (some members of the Chapcom will probably have their statue in the center of Barcelona next to Columbus) because you all happened to be an important factor in the path of Independence! Let me thank you for your brave support to the independence of the Catalan nation? Did you intervene in South Sudan previously?

I shall now finish this way too long message.You can try to keep the wind of freedom from spreading the word, but you won't stop this small bird, but a raging one, to fly up high and far away above the menacing clouds and to sing his song, for I am Capsot, the winged seeker of truth and justice!

Your favorite and independent minority rights' fighter Capsot 20:12, 22 March 2011 (UTC)Reply

Hi Capsot,

I understand your passion, and know that you're speaking from your heart for a cause you care deeply about. I, too, care deeply about it, which is why I work on these topics in the first place.

However, quite simply, neither the chapters committee nor the movement roles project have anything whatsoever to do with trademark enforcement.

The movement roles project has made more progress than any other effort toward recognizing Amical as the positive force in the movement that it is, and it's my sincere hope that the outcome of the new models discussion will be something everyone can be happy with.

Unfortunately, the goodwill of those who are trying to help Amical and similar organizations is hurt by the open hostility I've seen from you and your colleagues. It's said that you catch more flies with honey than with vinegar, and though I see that you're angry, I hope you soon come to realize that your behavior is a detriment to your cause. I do recognize that you have a valid grievance, and ask only for a little bit of patience and at least a modicum of civility.

Austin 20:44, 22 March 2011 (UTC)Reply

Hi Austin,

My name is Victor Grigas, I'm a storyteller at the Wikimedia foundation and we're working on gathering stories from Wikipedia editors, users, donors and staff to paint a picture of who uses Wikipedia for communication and fundraising purposes. I asked Lennart Guldbrandsson who might be interesting to speak to and he sent me your name. I'd be interested in speaking with you either over the phone or by Skype if you are interested in participating in the project.

Thanks :)

Victor

Hello,

I am writing to ask you a question regarding the status of our still pending request of Wikimedia Venezuela to become a local Wikimedia Chapter. We have started gathering people and ideas since October 2010, organised a series of lectures for Wikipedia TEN. Our proposed bylaws have been reviewed by members of the ChapCom as early as May 2011. We were informed that in June-July 2011, our proposal was scheduled to be submitted to voting and, as of October 2, 2011, we are yet to receive a notification, either approval, rejection, suggestions...we have received only silence. What is going on? What has delayed the ChapCom to close the voting on our case? Working groups in other countries have submitted their proposals/requests to form a local WikimediaChapter more or less at the same time that we did, and they have been approved already. Why not Wikimedia Venezuela? What is wrong with us? If we were told what is wrong with us, we could work it out and fix whatever is needed...but with no input, we are left sitting in the waiting room for months..

Could you please tell us what is delaying our approval? What do we have to do?

Our people (37) is anxious and wondering what is going on. We were more people, but we feel dissapointed and discouraged, and this doesn't help us at all. Could you please give us an update?

Many, many thanks in advance from Venezuela.

--Jewbask 01:30, 3 October 2011 (UTC)Reply

I am fully aware of Step-by-step chapter creation guide so I will not bore you off with the trivial questions.

There will be a meeting on the matter this November with the local community and I was wondering which issues you'd recommend be addressed first. I am curious which issues normally cause difficulties when chapters are formed. I'd like to bring attention to these issues before the meeting so that adequate thought is put into them.

Also I would like to join the mailing list but it does not seem to be listed at the grand list. I am guessing it is probably private but I was wondering if I could be an observer perhaps.

-- とある白い猫 ^chi? 21:00, 5 October 2011 (UTC)Reply

Hi! Do you still have the "Guess the language game" mentioned in Interact with the visitors on your website? It seems to be a dead (404) link. PiRSquared17 (talk) 02:02, 6 July 2013 (UTC)Reply

There is an e-mail in the moderation queue of the Wikimedia-l mailing list that requires your attention. (And another one that would welcome your input.) Thanks, odder (talk) 13:46, 22 February 2015 (UTC)Reply

Also, this moderation has lasted way too long now. --Nemo 14:04, 22 February 2015 (UTC)Reply

Around six months as far as I know. odder (talk) 14:32, 22 February 2015 (UTC)Reply

The e-mail that I sent to Wikimedia-l is this one. I just got an automated reply from the moderators:

Your request to the Wikimedia-l mailing list

    Posting of your message titled "Help fund a macro lens for a
Commons contributor"

has been rejected by the list moderator.  The moderator gave the
following reason for rejecting your request:

"Your message was deemed inappropriate by the moderator."

Any questions or comments should be directed to the list administrator
at:

    wikimedia-l-owner@lists.wikimedia.org

I would like to know why my e-mail was deemed inappropriate and was rejected. odder (talk) 15:20, 22 February 2015 (UTC)Reply

Given your inactivity in general, it would be good for you to resign your moderation control and appoint new, more active users to replace you. Nick (talk) 15:36, 22 February 2015 (UTC)Reply

I rejected that particular e-mail because it did not fit within the scope defined for Wikimedia-l; I have nothing against a crowdfunding campaign to buy gear for a contributor, but that mailing list is not the place to advertise it. Nick, I don't know what your beef is with me, but it is a bit paradoxical that you should reply to a complaint regarding an action I took 15 minutes prior with an accusation of inactivity. Austin (talk) 16:32, 22 February 2015 (UTC)Reply

@Austin: Financing of projects, including grants for projects organised by single persons, is routinely discussed on the Wikimedia-l mailing list. Indeed, the description page of the mailing list itself says that it can be used for finding ways to raise funds — and if my e-mail wasn't specifically about raising funds, then there is hardly any issue that could be classified as such. Also, as mentioned above, I have been on moderation for six months now; I think it's time that this stops. odder (talk) 16:48, 22 February 2015 (UTC)Reply

Wow, such hostility. I've no problem with you, but I've a problem with you being a list moderator when you're not exactly active on projects anywhere, which leads to you becoming unfamiliar with what's happening and rejecting e-mails because you simply have no idea what's happening. I do hope you will at least add some new moderators who are active and know what's going on, even if you refuse to quietly step down. Nick (talk) 17:13, 22 February 2015 (UTC)Reply

• I was away due to personal matters; no idea what had happened. All I know is Odder was trying to help me as a neutral and un-involved. (I remember the old post about another campaign; didn't see any moderation then.) Jee 11:33, 25 February 2015 (UTC)Reply

TL;DR: Fill a short Wikimania survey, it takes 5 min.

Hi, I'm writing you because you are listed in Wikimania/Frequent attendees. As you probably know by now, Wikimania 2016 Esino Lario wants to achieve a Wikimania format which allows people to "get things done" and leave the conference fully satisfied with the result of their investment of time and other resources (see pillars 2 and 4: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimania_2016_bids/Esino_Lario/Pillars ). For this purpose, we consider all audiences (see https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimania_2016_bids/Esino_Lario/Program#Target ).

Participants other than scholarship recipients and reimbursed representatives are one group we heard very little from, but we think they are important because: 1) they have financial resources and help make the Wikimania budget sustainable; 2) they have motivation to share and ideas on what makes Wikimania valuable.

We set up a form mainly to collect names of some such people and talk with them later: if you provide your contact, we may write you on this topic. We may release aggregate data from the resposes; data will be handled by us and the Wikimania 2016 fiscal sponsor "Ecomuseo delle Grigne" (under EU law). Please fill the whole form, it's short!

Feel free to forward this invite to anyone.

Thanks,
Federico Leva and Martin Rulsch
Wikimania 2016 team, scholarships subteam
08:30, 11 September 2015 (UTC)

Hallo Austin, Op de Duitstalige Wikipedia heeft men al een aantal jaar een systeem waarin gebruikers die elkaar in levende lijve ontmoet hebben kunnen bevestigen dat ze elkaar kennen. Dit systeem heeft men bedacht om meer vertrouwen tussen gebruikers onderling te scheppen en zodoende een prettigere sfeer te creëren op de wiki. Op de Duitstalige Wikipedia is dit een groot succes en ik heb daarom enkele jaren terug het grootste gedeelte van dat systeem vertaald naar het Nederlands om ook op de Nederlandstalige Wikipedia en erbuiten een prettigere werksfeer te creëren. Het zou daarom leuk zijn als meer gebruikers zich aanmelden. Het heeft pas zin om je aan te melden in het systeem als minstens drie andere gebruikers in levende lijve hebt ontmoet. Je was bij de afgelopen prijsuitreiking van de Erasmusprijs dus dat zit wel goed. Als je je aangemeld hebt, kun je pas andere gebruikers bevestigen dat je ze ontmoet hebt, als drie gebruikers jou reeds bevestigd hebben, ik informeer je als het dan zover is. Over het gehele systeem is meer informatie te vinden op w:nl:Wikipedia:Ontmoete Wikimedianen. In het groene kader staan de instructies. Op w:nl:Wikipedia:Ontmoete Wikimedianen/Deelnemers probeer ik een overzicht bij te houden van gebruikers die actief zijn in het Nederlandstalig taalgebied. Het zou leuk zijn als je je aanmeldt! :-) Groetjes - Romaine (talk) 15:05, 29 November 2015 (UTC)Reply

LOL, so now your moderation style is to encourage people to explicitly "defame" individuals? Nemo 12:13, 22 February 2016 (UTC)Reply

And now also notices that nobody was censored yet this week, nice. :-) An interesting application of the canary method, will you continue posting such negative disclosures regularly from now on? Nemo 19:36, 22 February 2016 (UTC)Reply