body:
facts about Wikipedia) was tested in many different versions and
eventually performed better than all previous fundraising banners

=== Fundraising report released ===

The Wikimedia Foundation's fundraising team published
<https://blog.wikimedia.org/2013/06/04/wikimedia-foundation-releases-detailed-report-on-2012-fundraiser/>
a report from the 2012-2013 fundraiser
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fundraising_2012/report>.
The report reviews the evolution of banner design and includes data
about the 2012 year-end English campaign and the 2013 multilingual
campaign, which raised a total $35 million USD from over 2 million donors.

=== Community invited to discuss trademark practices ===

The Legal and Community Advocacy
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Legal_and_Community_Advocacy>
(LCA) team published a statement on trademark practices
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Trademark_practices_discussion>,
which requests community
feedback on the Wikimedia trademark policy, procedure, and other
questions. The objective is to balance the interest in licensing the
brand for mission-aligned activities, with the necessity of preventing
misuse and "naked licensing" (licensing without quality control). This
is the opportunity to provide ideas as the team considers updating the
trademark policy and practices.

=== Wikipedia Zero launches in Pakistan ===

Wikipedia Zero, the program to give people around the world mobile
access to Wikipedia free of data charges, is now available in Pakistan
<http://www.nation.com.pk/pakistan-news-newspaper-daily-english-online/business/05-Jun-2013/mobilink-brings-wikipedia-zero-to-pakistan/>,
in partnership with Mobilink (Vimpelcom). The company's user base of
over 32 million people makes this the second largest Wikipedia Zero
launch to date.

<Image: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wikipedia_Nearby_in_Vatican_City_2013-05-16_10-02.jpg>
The "Nearby" feature in Vatican City. The camera icon (bottom) indicates
an article which misses images, inviting users to contribute one.

=== "Nearby" feature shows Wikipedia articles in the reader's vicinity ===

On location-aware devices (such as smartphones with GPS), a new
<https://blog.wikimedia.org/2013/05/29/wikipedia-nearby-beta/> "Nearby"
page <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Nearby> lists articles close to
the reader's current location. The feature is designed for mobile
devices, but also works on the desktop version of Wikipedia.

<Image: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Tool_Labs_presentation_(Hackaton_2013).pdf>
Presentation slides with the Tool Labs logo

=== New hosting environment for community-developed tools ===

The Tool Labs, an environment for community developers to provide
external software tools supporting work on Wikimedia projects, is now
operating. With the support of the German Wikimedia chapter, many
existing tools have already migrated from the Wikimedia Toolserver to
Tools Labs
<https://blog.wikimedia.org/2013/05/30/preparing-for-the-migration-from-the-wikimedia-toolserver-to-tool-labs/>.

=== Search for new Executive Director begins ===

The job opening for the Wikimedia Foundation's new Executive Director
<http://hire.jobvite.com/Jobvite/Job.aspx?j=o1huXfwt&c=qSa9VfwQ> has
been posted. This starts the search for a successor for Sue Gardner, who
will step down later this year. Board of Trustees chair Kat Walsh asked
Wikimedians for help
<https://blog.wikimedia.org/2013/05/21/search-for-next-wikimedia-foundation-executive-director/>
in finding the best possible candidate, by spreading the news in their
networks.

== Engineering ==

A detailed report of the Tech Department's activities for May 2013 can
be found at:

    https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Wikimedia_engineering_report/2013/May

Department Highlights

Major news in May include:

  * An invitation
    <https://blog.wikimedia.org/2013/05/01/apply-for-an-internship-with-the-language-engineering-team/>
    from the Language engineering team to collaborate on
    language-related projects;
  * A new Notifications system
    <https://blog.wikimedia.org/2013/05/02/notifications-launch-english-wikipedia/>
    enabled on the English Wikipedia;
  * Recent developments
    <https://blog.wikimedia.org/2013/05/08/updates-from-language-engineering-changes-to-the-language-selector-new-extension-bundle-release/>
    in language engineering, and the upcoming deployment of the
    Universal language selector
    <https://blog.wikimedia.org/2013/05/22/getting-ready-for-uls-everywhere-2/>
    on all wikis;
  * The start of a discussion around Flow
    <https://blog.wikimedia.org/2013/05/20/flow-next-generation-discussion-system/>,
    a proposed discussion system for Wikimedia sites;
  * A call for proposals
    <https://blog.wikimedia.org/2013/05/21/request-for-proposals-mediawiki-release-management/>
    to manage the MediaWiki release cycle;
  * An experience-sharing exercise
    <https://blog.wikimedia.org/2013/05/28/developing-distributedly-part-1-tools-for-remote-collaboration/>
    by the Mobile engineering team about distributed collaboration;
  * "Nearby
    <https://blog.wikimedia.org/2013/05/29/wikipedia-nearby-beta/>", a
    feature showing Wikipedia articles about nearby places on
    location-aware devices;
  * Tool Labs, which is now operational and ready to host tools
    <https://blog.wikimedia.org/2013/05/30/preparing-for-the-migration-from-the-wikimedia-toolserver-to-tool-labs/>
    migrated from the Toolserver;
  * A test wiki
    <https://blog.wikimedia.org/2013/05/30/test-features-in-a-right-to-left-language-environment/>
    to try out new features in right-to-left languages
  * Tech news <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Tech_news>, a weekly
tech newsletter to help users
    stay informed of technical changes going to impact them.

=== VisualEditor <https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/VisualEditor> ===

In May, the VisualEditor team worked to complete major new features. The
objective is for VisualEditor to be the default editor for all Wikipedia
users, capable of letting them edit the majority of content without
needing to use the wikitext editor, in July 2013. The team has focused
on four areas of new functionality: references, templates, categories
and media items. Editing of references and templates has been
implemented in experimental code; category editing is nearly complete
and should be made available very soon. The deployed alpha version of
VisualEditor was updated twice (1.22-wmf4
<https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/MediaWiki_1.22/wmf4#VisualEditor> and
1.22-wmf5 <https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/MediaWiki_1.22/wmf5#VisualEditor>),
adding a number of user interface improvements, including further work
behind the scenes to better support the new features, and fixing a
number of bugs.

VisualEditor relies on Parsoid <https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Parsoid>, the
program that serves as translator between wikitext code and annotated
HTML. The Parsoid team implemented several new features, particularly
around the handling the inclusion of images (and their parameters).
Improvements were also made to support editing of templates within
extensions. This lets editors modify and add templated citations in
VisualEditor, an important feature to improve the quality of articles in
Wikipedia. In addition to new features, the team implemented important
performance optimizations as well, in preparation for the July
VisualEditor milestone. For example, the processing of expensive
templates, extensions and images is now reused in order to avoid
reprocessing identical code. This is necessary to avoid overwhelming the
servers when tracking all edits on Wikimedia projects. A cache
infrastructure with appropriate purging was set up and will be tested at
full load through June. Last, at the Amsterdam hackathon, the team
helped other developers use Parsoid's annotated HTML for other projects,
such as a Wikipedia-to-SMS service or the Kiwix offline Wikipedia reader.

<Image: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Notifications-Message-Indicator-OptionF2-Toolbar-Alert-Orange-Screenshot-Closeup2-05-08-2013.png>
Indicator for new user talk page messages in the Notifications tool
<Image: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Notifications-Flyout-Screenshot-Thanks-Closeup-04-30-2013-1.png>
A thanks notification

=== Editor engagement <https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/New_editor_engagement> ===

In May, the Editor engagement team (E2) activated new features and bug
fixes for Notifications <https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Echo_(Notifications)>
on the English Wikipedia and mediawiki.org. In collaboration with
community members, a 'new message indicator'
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Notifications/New_message_indicator>
was developed to inform users when someone posts on their talk page. The
team also released a new 'Thanks notification
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Notifications/Thanks>' that lets
editors show their appreciation to users who make helpful edits, and
offers a quick way to give positive feedback on Wikipedia. Messages are
now marked as read when you visit your talk page, and talk page
notifications link directly to their sections. Work continued on the
metrics dashboard <http://toolserver.org/~dartar/en/echo/> and HTML
email notifications.

A few final features and bug fixes were added to Article feedback
<https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Article_feedback>, a quality assessment
feature. As requested by community members, a new opt-in feature now
makes it easier to enable or disable feedback on a page; UI improvements
were also developed to simplify the feedback page. The team activated
new feedback links and tested the auto-archive feature on prototype.
Feature development has now ended for this project, and next steps will
be determined based on the upcoming community vote on the German
Wikipedia in coming weeks.

Discussion portals about Flow <https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Flow_Portal>, a
feed-like interface to enable users to better interact with their
projects, were announced
<https://blog.wikimedia.org/2013/05/20/flow-next-generation-discussion-system/>
and opened on three wikis: the English Wikipedia
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/en:Wikipedia:Flow>, Meta-Wiki
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Flow>, and mediawiki.org
<https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Flow_Portal>. An interactive prototype
<http://unicorn.wmflabs.org/flow/> was released to the public for
discussion, now ongoing.

<Image: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mobile_Update_(June_2013).pdf?page=2>
Update on the Mobile team's work (presentation slides)

As for the Editor engagement experiments
<https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Editor_engagement_experiments> team (E3), they
launched their new account creation and login forms
<https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Account_creation_user_experience>, after
numerous bug fixes and working with local communities to customize the
interface. Complete deployment as the default for all Wikimedia projects
was enabled by early June. The team also launched and tested a new
version of the "Getting Started"
<https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Extension:GettingStarted> interface for
onboarding new Wikipedians
<https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/onboarding_new_Wikipedians>. The results of
A/B testing <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Research:OB5> of this new
version showed the largest
increase in click-through rates for the landing page. Last but not
least, the PostEdit extension
<https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Extension:PostEdit> was moved to MediaWiki
core, making it available to all wikis.

=== Mobile <https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Mobile_engineering> ===

This month, the Mobile team launched Wikipedia Zero
<https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Wikipedia_Zero> with Mobilink in Pakistan.
They improved code quality and configuration of Zero programs, and fixed
bugs.

A major focus in May was the activation of 'Nearby' view on the stable
version of the mobile site (see also general "Highlights" section
 above). Now, with a location-aware device, users can
easily identify articles close to their current location. Improvements
were also made to photo uploads and the photo upload experience,
including improved messaging around image quality and copyright
requirements for new uploaders in the beta version of the mobile site.
The upload features in general have been a great success, with over 1000
unique uploaders
<http://mobile-reportcard.wmflabs.org/graphs/unique-uploaders> over the
last two months. Experiments continue in the beta version of the site
with improvements to article editing, an improved reorganization of site
navigation, Echo notifications, talk pages, and simplifying discovery of
article actions (like editing and watching). These beta features are
expected to be released in June.

<Image: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sinenjongo_12A_High_Schoolers_and_Victor_Grigas_in_Joe_Slovo_Park.jpeg>
Students from Sinenjongo High School with Victor Grigas

== Fundraising ==

=== Major Gifts and Foundations ===

  * Completed our transition to a new caging service, i.e. mail and
    check processing service
  * Began planning for a New York event

=== Annual Fundraiser ===

  * Posted
    <https://blog.wikimedia.org/2013/06/04/wikimedia-foundation-releases-detailed-report-on-2012-fundraiser/>
    the 2012-2013 fundraiser report
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fundraising_2012/report> (see
    general "Highlights" section)
  * Tested a new banner design with the donation form in the banner.
    Updates with results
    <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fundraising_2013#May_19.2C_2013_Form_Banner_Test>
are posted
    on Meta-wiki.
  * Held a week-long communication workshop with the entire fundraising
    team.
  * Victor Grigas and filmmaker Charlene Music filmed a short
    documentary about Sinenjongo High School, South Africa and their
    grassroots efforts to get Wikipedia free on their cellphones.

== Grantmaking ==

Department highlights

  * Grantmaking quarterly review (notes and slides)
    <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Metrics_and_activities_meetings/Quarterly_reviews/Grantmaking,_2013-05-15>
  * The FDC's recommendation for 2012-2013 Round 2
    <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/FDC_portal/FDC_recommendations/2012-2013_round2>
is published
    and was approved by the WMF Board of Trustees on 31 May
    <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/FDC_portal/Board_decisions/2012-2013_round2>,
recommending
    funds allocations for Wikimedia Norge
    <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/FDC_portal/Proposals/2012-2013_round2/Wikimedia_Norge/Proposal_form>
    and Wikimédia France
    <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/FDC_portal/Proposals/2012-2013_round2/Wikim%C3%A9dia_France/Proposal_form>.
  * FDC staff prepares for the deadline for submitting a Letter of
    Intent (LOI)
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/FDC_portal/Sample_letter_of_intent>,
which is a
    mandatory step in the FDC process, by hosting two IRC discussions.
    LOIs for 2013-2014 Round 1 are due by 8 June.
  * Elections for the two remaining seats on the FDC
    <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_elections/FDC_elections/2013/Candidates>
    are taking place now.
  * In total, 12 grant requests to individuals, groups, and
    organizations were approved in May (2 FDC proposals, 4 WMF Grants
    Program submissions, 6 Participation Support requests)
  * The WMF Grants Program
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Grants:Index> is experiencing record
    numbers of open requests this month
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Grants:Index/Requests>,
    with 11 requests currently being considered.
  * The eight approved Individual Engagement Grants
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Grants:IEG>
    are now all underway.
  * The Participation Support Program has published new criteria for
    eligibility and selection on the Participation Support page
    <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Participation:Support>.
  * Wikipedia Education Program presents its Mid-Year Review. Minutes
    and slides from the meeting are available on Meta
    <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Metrics_and_activities_meetings/Quarterly_reviews/Wikipedia_Education_Program/May_2013>.

=== Strategic Goals Metrics ===

Metric 	Value 	MoM 	MoM% 	Chart
Global South Active Editors (5+ edits in main namespace) 	15.7k 	-235
-1.4% Decrease 	[1]
<http://gp.wmflabs.org/graphs/global_north_south_active_editors>

=== Funds Dissemination Committee ===

  * On May 31, the WMF Board of Trustees published their decision
    <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/FDC_portal/Board_decisions/2012-2013_round2>
on the FDC's
    *Round 2 funding* recommendations with no changes. Wikimedia Norge
    will receive a funds allocation of US$140,000
    <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/FDC_portal/Proposals/2012-2013_round2/Wikimedia_Norge/Proposal_form>
    and Wikimédia France will receive a funds allocation of US$525,000
    <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/FDC_portal/Proposals/2012-2013_round2/Wikim%C3%A9dia_France/Proposal_form>.
  * The FDC now has two seats up for *community elections*
    <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_elections/FDC_elections/2013/Candidates>.
The
    two successful candidates will join the now seven-person committee
    in July 2013, making a total of nine people. Seven candidates have
    put themselves forward. The ombudsperson position is also up for
    election, and two candidates
    <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_elections/FDC_Ombudsperson_elections/2013/Candidates>
    have presented themselves for the elction.
  * FDC staff held two *IRC office hours* logged here
    <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/IRC_office_hours/Office_hours_2013-05-29>
and here
    <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/IRC_office_hours/Office_hours_2013-05-29_2>
focusing on the
    first step of the FDC application process: the letter of intent
    <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/FDC_portal/Sample_letter_of_intent>.
*The letter of intent is
    the first, mandatory step in applying to funds and must be submitted
    by end of day UTC June 8, 2013 to apply for 2013-2014 Round 1 in the
    fall.* To create a letter of intent, please visit the FDC portal
    <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/FDC_portal>. As always, any
questions or comments should be
    directed to FDCsupport at wikimedia.org .
  * Following the publication of the FDC's Round 2 recommendations
    <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/FDC_portal/FDC_recommendations/2012-2013_round2>,
Wikimedia
    Hong Kong submitted an *official complaint
    <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/FDC_portal/Complaints_regarding_FDC_recommendations_to_the_board/2012-2013_round2#WMHK.27s_official_statement_regarding_the_recent_decision_of_FDC>*
    to the Board of Trustees. After reviewing the complaint, the Board
    responded
    <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/FDC_portal/Complaints_regarding_FDC_recommendations_to_the_board/2012-2013_round2#Response_from_Board_representatives>,
    highlighting the factors that went into the FDC's decision,
    primarily: "the effectiveness of the programs proposed in terms of
    both potential impact and budgetary implications, and the internal
    governance and organizational capacity of the WMHK chapter to
    administer such a large grant."
  * Wikimedia Hong Kong also submitted an *appeal on the eligibility
    status* of WMHK and WMCZ
    <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/FDC_portal/Appeals_regarding_FDC_process/2012-2013_round2#Retrospective_disqualification_of_WMCZ_and_WMHK>
    to the ombudsperson. In her capacity, the ombudsperson provided a
    detailed report
    <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/FDC_portal/Appeals_regarding_FDC_process/2012-2013_round2#Report>
    with facts on the matter, as well as learning for future rounds.

=== WMF Grants ===

  * The WMF Grants Program is experiencing *record numbers of open
    requests* this May, and the GAC is working hard to encourage
    discussions around these many open requests. There are currently 11
    open requests.
  * In numbers: *4 grants approved and 9 reports accepted*

==== Grants awarded in May 2013 ====

  * Funds to support the Third *Ibero-American Summit* in México City:
    Grants:WM_MX/Iberoconf_2013
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Grants:WM_MX/Iberoconf_2013>
  * Funds to support a *concert featuring freely licensed vocal music*
    in the Ukraine: Grants:WM_UA/Free_Vocal_Music_concert
    <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Grants:WM_UA/Free_Vocal_Music_concert>
  * Funds to support a *photo contest in the Ukraine* featuring
    Ukraine’s Natural Heritage sites: Grants:WM_UA/Wiki_Loves_Earth
    <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Grants:WM_UA/Wiki_Loves_Earth>
  * Funds to support a gathering of a national *Brazilian working group
    on free knowledge and science*:
    Grants:Alexandre_Hannud_Abdo_-_Grupo_de_Trabalho_em_Ciência_Aberta/Encontro_de_Acadêmicos_pelo_Conhecimento_Livre
    <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Grants:Alexandre_Hannud_Abdo_-_Grupo_de_Trabalho_em_Ci%C3%AAncia_Aberta/Encontro_de_Acad%C3%AAmicos_pelo_Conhecimento_Livre>

==== Reports accepted in May 2013 ====

  * Grants:Michel_Castelo_Branco_-_Wikimedians_in_Brazil/WikiBrasil_2012/Report
    <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Grants:Michel_Castelo_Branco_-_Wikimedians_in_Brazil/WikiBrasil_2012/Report>
  * Grants:WM_AT/Annual_Program_Plan_2012/Report_Q4
    <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Grants:WM_AT/Annual_Program_Plan_2012/Report_Q4>
  * Grants:WM_AT/Annual_Program_Plan_2012/Report
    <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Grants:WM_AT/Annual_Program_Plan_2012/Report>
  * Grants:WM_CZ/Presentation_&_Outreach/Report2013-1
    <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Grants:WM_CZ/Presentation_%26_Outreach/Report2013-1>
  * Grants:Dominic/GLAM_NARA_Events_fund/Report
    <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Grants:Dominic/GLAM_NARA_Events_fund/Report>
  * Grants:WM_IL/Legal_Opinions/Report
    <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Grants:WM_IL/Legal_Opinions/Report>
  * Grants:WM_CA/In_person_meeting
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Grants:WM_CA/In_person_meeting>
  * Grants:WM_EE/2012/Report
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Grants:WM_EE/2012/Report>
  * Grants:WM_CZ/Mediagrant/Report/2013/05
    <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Grants:WM_CZ/Mediagrant/Report/2013/05>

=== Participation Support ===

  * In numbers: *8 participants funded (6 requests) and 3 reports accepted*
  * Participation Support *selection criteria and eligibility
    requirements have been updated* on the Participation Support landing
    page <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Participation:Support>. We
encourage anyone interested
    in receiving travel support for a non-Wikimedia event to review the
    new criteria.
  * Please note that the PSP will only consider requests for
    WikiSym-OpenSym submitted before 10 June.
  * If you are planning an event and will need funding for scholarship
    participants, the event organizers should apply through the
    Wikimedia Foundation Grants Program for a scholarship grant or for a
    portion of an event grant that may be used for scholarships rather
    than sending individual participants to the PSP. Please contact
    grants at wikimedia dot or with questions.

==== Requests awarded in May 2013 ====

  * Funding for three volunteers to attend a spring at the *Open Help
    conference*:
    Participation:Ocaasi,_Valeriej,_The_wub/Open_Help_Conference
    <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Participation:Ocaasi,_Valeriej,_The_wub/Open_Help_Conference>

Funding for 5 volunteers to attend *Open Source Bridge* 2013:

  * Participation:Paulproteus/Open_Source_Bridge_2013
    <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Participation:Paulproteus/Open_Source_Bridge_2013>
  * Participation:Harsh4101991/Open_Source_Bridge_2013
    <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Participation:Harsh4101991/Open_Source_Bridge_2013>
  * Participation:Sucheta_Ghoshal/Open_Source_Bridge_2013
    <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Participation:Sucheta_Ghoshal/Open_Source_Bridge_2013>
  * Participation:Sky_Harbor/OpenSourceBridge13
    <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Participation:Sky_Harbor/OpenSourceBridge13>
  * Participation:Noopur28/OpenSourceBridge13
    <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Participation:Noopur28/OpenSourceBridge13>

==== Reports accepted in May 2013 ====

  * Thelmadatter's report on participation in the *Seminar on the
    Acquisition of Latin American Library Materials*:
    Participation:Thelmadatter/Seminar_on_the_Acquisition_of_Latin_American_Library_Materials/Report
    <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Participation:Thelmadatter/Seminar_on_the_Acquisition_of_Latin_American_Library_Materials/Report>
  * Nicola's report on participation in the *International Cycling
    History Conference*:
    Participation:Nicola/International_Cycling_History_Conference/Report
    <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Participation:Nicola/International_Cycling_History_Conference/Report>
  * Lpagola's report on participation in LibreGraphicsMeeting:
    Participation:Lpagola/LibreGraphicsMeeting/Report
    <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Participation:Lpagola/LibreGraphicsMeeting/Report>

=== Individual Engagement Grants ===

==== Program ====

  * We've been iterating on *program pages* and the proposal review
    process
    <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Grants:IEG/Committee/Workroom/Review#review-instructions>
and
    timeline <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Grants:IEG/Committee/Workroom#committee-review>
in
    preparation for round 2, in response to round 1 feedback
    <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Grants:IEG/Feedback/round_1_2013>.
  * A work sprint
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Grants:IdeaLab/Build/May_2013_sprint_plan>
is
    underway in the *IdeaLab*. Enhanced functionality is intended to
    boost dynamic activity in the space in preparation for the next IEG
    open call.

==== Grantees ====

  * *7 IEGrantees projects continue and an 8th is beginnning* after
    clearing dependencies from its original provisional approval. Some
    grantees are contributing to the WMF blog
    <https://blog.wikimedia.org/tag/individual-engagement-grants/>, and
    all grantees' progress is chronicled each month at:
      o Grants:IEG/Build an effective method of publicity in
        PRChina/Timeline
        <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Grants:IEG/Build_an_effective_method_of_publicity_in_PRChina/Timeline>
      o Grants:IEG/Consolidate wikiArS to involve art schools/Timeline
        <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Grants:IEG/Consolidate_wikiArS_to_involve_art_schools/Timeline>
      o Grants:IEG/Elaborate_Wikisource strategic vision/Timeline
        <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Grants:IEG/Elaborate_Wikisource_strategic_vision/Timeline>
      o Grants:IEG/MediaWiki data browser/Timeline
        <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Grants:IEG/MediaWiki_data_browser/Timeline>
      o Grants:IEG/Replay Edits/Timeline
        <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Grants:IEG/Replay_Edits/Timeline>
      o Grants:IEG/The Wikipedia Adventure/Timeline
        <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Grants:IEG/The_Wikipedia_Adventure/Timeline>
      o Grants:IEG/The Wikipedia Library/Timeline
        <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Grants:IEG/The_Wikipedia_Library/Timeline>
      o Grants:IEG/MediaWiki_and_Javanese_script
        <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Grants:IEG/MediaWiki_and_Javanese_script>
  * Grantees Ocaasi and Micru attended the *Hackathon* in Amsterdam to
    connect with technical contributors across the movement.

=== Learning & Evaluation ===

Internal Performance Monitoring

  * Grantmaking quarterly report
    <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Metrics_and_activities_meetings/Quarterly_reviews/Grantmaking,_2013-05-15>
  * Updated grantmaking dashboard

Grantmaking Programs Feedback

  * Created *feedback surveys* for IEG and the Grants Program
    <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Grantmaking_and_Programs/Learning_%26_Evaluation_portal/Survey_drafts>
    (draft); refined feedback surveys for FDC, to be distributed in June.
  * Executed first feedback surveys for IEG
    <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Grants:IEG/Feedback/round_1_2013>
and filtered feedback
    (people liked the program!)
  * Administered survey for feedback from FDC for the deliberation process

Grantee tools

  * Working with the Analytics team to rescope and refine the
    *UserMetrics <https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/UserMetrics> API* to allow it
    to be usable publicly. See draft of Grantmaking needs from the tool
    <http://etherpad.wikimedia.org/GtRLUKyOTb>
  * Developed overview of *surveying for grantees*
    <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Grantmaking_and_Programs/Learning_%26_Evaluation_portal/How_to_survey>;
    working on finding good survey solutions for them to use

=== Brazil Catalyst Project ===

==== Institutional ====

Our *potential institutional partner* in Brazil, Ação Educativa, has
been finalizing a project's proposal to be submitted to WMF.

==== Data & Experiments ====

  * Partial *translation* of the Meta Page Research:Data
    <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Research:Data> into Portuguese
has been released
    <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Research:Data/pt>.
  * Prototype of *ptwiki timeline
    <https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikip%C3%A9dia:Arqueologia/Linha_do_tempo>*
    created with events data structured.
  * Ongoing evalution on the design of the *Data Center
    <https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikip%C3%A9dia:Central_de_pesquisas/Portal_de_dados/teste>*

  * Research released:
      o *Vandalism* profile, impact and occurance
        <https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Usu%C3%A1rio(a):HAndrade_(WMF)/Pesquisa_Vandalismo>
        (preliminary results released, still collecting more data)

  * Research in the planning phase:
      o Medicin Wikiproject
        <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Talk:Brazil_Program/Education_program/Goal#Questions_about_WikiprojectBot_and_metrics>:
        The activity of users that were invited to the project by the
        Wikiprojetosbot will be tracked to measure the *effectiveness of
        the invitations*.

==== Staff & Community work ====

  * *IRC meeting* with community
    <https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikip%C3%A9dia:Projetos/Wikip%C3%A9dia/Reuni%C3%B5es>:
    agenda covered vandalism research, consensus on Wikipedia,
    mismatching disambiguations, education program job positions, ptwiki
    research center history and future, medicin wikiproject and ptwiki
    timeline.

==== Education ====

<Image: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Oona_Castro_UFRGS_01.JPG>
Oona Castro speaking at the UFGRS outreach event in Porto Alegre

  * Education program *job positions*:
      o Interview with candidates (we had 100+ applicants!) for the
        education program positions
      o Online task with final candidates for the coordination position
        <https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikip%C3%A9dia:Esplanada/geral/Sobre_a_efici%C3%AAncia_da_participa%C3%A7%C3%A3o_da_comunidade_no_processo_seletivo_de_empregados_da_Wikimedia_Foundation_(21mai2013)>
      o Two *new independent contractors* to substitute the Education
        Program Consultant, Everton Alvarenga, were chosen
  * Ongoing *support for professors* on our network and others willing
    to join
  * *Outreach materials*: Finalising outreach and guide materials
  * *Outreach events*: successful outreach event organized by the
    community at UFRGS
    <https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikip%C3%A9dia:Encontros/UFRGS20131> (Porto
    Alegre city)
  * *In the media:* "Wikipédia aposta no professor para se tornar mais
    confiável no Brasil
    <http://noticias.terra.com.br/educacao/wikipedia-aposta-no-professor-para-se-tornar-mais-confiavel-no-brasil,93e074cf796de310VgnVCM3000009acceb0aRCRD.html>"
    (terra.com.br) and "Wikipédia quer universidades
    <http://www.baguete.com.br/noticias/24/05/2013/wikipedia-quer-universidades>"
    (Baguete)

==== Medicine Wikiproject ====

  * Wikiprojetosbot
    <https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Usu%C3%A1rio:Wikiprojetosbot> started
    dispatching *invitations* for users to join the wikiproject.
  * Despite its preliminary stage, this strategy is already showing some
    results such as community engagement on the Wikiproject talk page
    and an increasing number of new editors.

== Program Development ==

Department highlights

  * The Mobile team launched *Wikipedia Zero in Pakistan*. With over 32
    million mobile customers, this is the second largest launch for
    Wikipedia Zero to date.
  * Program Evaluation and Design staff is getting ready for the *first
    evaluation workshop* in Budapest (June 22–23). Participants from
    more than 15 countries will meet in Hungary to gain a basic shared
    understanding of program evaluation, work collaboratively to map and
    prioritize measurable outcomes, and gain increased fluency in a
    common language of evaluation. Wikimédia Magyarország kindly
    supports this workshop, which will afterwards also be available
    online through videos and slides on Commons. More information is
    available on Meta
    <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Program_Evaluation_and_Design/June_2013_Workshop>.
  * The *Education Team presented strong numbers in its mid-year review
    <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Metrics_and_activities_meetings/Quarterly_reviews/Wikipedia_Education_Program/May_2013>*.
    For the current fiscal year, the team expects to be on track for a
    total goal of 25 million bytes of new content contributed to
    Wikipedia's article namespace by students. Classes participating in
    Egypt showed a particularly high percentage of female editors (~
    85%); one of the Arabic Wikipedia's current administrators and now
    top-editors coming out of the Egypt Education Program.

=== Program Evaluation and Design ===

  * In May, the team worked on organizing the *upcoming Budapest
    workshop* (June 21–23). Adele Vrana provided support with the
    logistics of the meeting, Sarah Stierch communicated with
    participants and the Hungarian Chapter, and Jaime Anstee started her
    work on presentation slides and the agenda of the meeting. Interest
    in the workshop exceeded our expectations by far – more than 50
    chapters representatives and unaffiliated volunteers applied to be
    part of the event. The team is working on preparing all materials in
    a way that they can be published online; it is also planning on
    documenting parts of the meeting on video so people who won't be
    able to attend the workshop in person will have the opportunity to
    follow the discussion.

  * Also in May, Jaime worked on a *glossary of terms* around evaluation
    and program design. Having a shared language in these two areas will
    help people from different countries understand each other better –
    which we consider a key advantage given that our movement is so
    diverse and most people come from countries where English is not a
    native language. The team is planning to publish a first draft of
    the glossary on Meta prior to the June event in Budapest.

  * In early May, the team had a one-day offsite *team retreat*. This
    event served to build a better team cohesion and to work on shared
    team vision and goals. The event was facilitated by Liz Williams, an
    outside contractor that also provides coaching services to the
    Wikimedia Foundation.

  * Frank Schulenburg and Anasuya Sengupta worked on a detailed plan
    that outlines how the Grantmaking and the Program Evaluation and
    Design teams will work with each other in the future. Part of this
    plan is a *roles and responsibilities grid* that got shared with
    members of each team in late May. The work on this document was an
    important step for getting better clarity about the scope of each
    team's work and also for setting the stage for future collaboration.

=== Wikipedia Zero ===

  * Launched Wikipedia Zero
    <http://www.nation.com.pk/pakistan-news-newspaper-daily-english-online/business/05-Jun-2013/mobilink-brings-wikipedia-zero-to-pakistan/>
    with Mobilink (Vimpelcom) in *Pakistan*. This is our second largest
    launch to date (in terms of userbase, which is over 32 milion people)
  * Refactored legacy codebase to move configuration to an improved
    format which will act as the foundation of a *web portal system*.
  * Updated code to handle *recent changes to the mobile site* correctly
    for Wikipedia Zero

<Image: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wikipedia_Education_Program_Mid-Year_Review_May_2013_slides.pdf?page=22>
Slides from the Mid-Year Review of the Wikipedia Education Program

=== Wikipedia Education Program ===

  * The team prepared for and participated in a *Mid-Year Review* with
    Sue and Erik. Minutes and slides from the meeting are available on
    Meta
    <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Metrics_and_activities_meetings/Quarterly_reviews/Wikipedia_Education_Program/May_2013>.
  * Reviewed resumes and interviewed candidates for *Global Education
    Program Manager* position.
  * Documented Education Program *training infrastructure* for easier
    porting and translation.

US/Canada

  * *Followed up with professors* from Spring 2013 to reflect on
    learnings, brainstorm potential blog posts to feature those
    learnings or great experiences from student contributions, and get
    feedback for needed support for Fall 2013.
  * Began creating official list of *classes that will participate in
    Fall 2013* and connecting those classes to Ambassador support and
    assignment design advice
  * Developed priorities for *Education Extension redesign* to improve
    the user interface for Fall 2013 semester
  * Volunteers creating the *new non-profit (to run the US/CA program)*
    requested start-up funding from GAC and Thematic Organization
    affiliation via the Affiliations Committee
  * Implemented "Did You Know box" content for the *Special:MyCourses
    feed* on English Wikipedia.

Arab World

  * Classes have started editing the Arabic Wikipedia in *Jordan,
    Algeria, and Egypt*.
  * Faris planned travel to visit Dr. Yahia Fares University of Médéa in
    *Algeria* in hopes of expanding the program beyond one class there.
  * Reviewed resumes for *Arab World Education Program Manager*.

Communications

  * LiAnna and Sage worked closely with David Peters on a design of a
    new *brochure about Wikimedia Commons*, a companion piece to the
    "Welcome to Wikipedia" brochure. A preliminary design will be
    available in June, and the brochure will be available after the
    launch of the VisualEditor.
  * Facilitated six *blog posts* on the WMF blog:
      o Arabic Wikipedia grows thanks to Wikipedia Education Program
        students
        <http://blog.wikimedia.org/2013/05/02/wikipedia-education-program-arab-world/>
      o Rice University students take multiple classes with a
        Wikipedia-editing assignment
        <http://blog.wikimedia.org/2013/05/07/wikipedia-education-program-nadhika-ramachandran/>
      o Physics professor assigns students to edit Portuguese Wikipedia
        <http://blog.wikimedia.org/2013/05/08/rafael-pezzi-profile/>
      o School of Open offers free Wikipedia course
        <http://blog.wikimedia.org/2013/05/10/school-of-open-offers-free-wikipedia-course/>
      o What’s going on in Sweden?
        <http://blog.wikimedia.org/2013/05/13/wikipedia-education-program-update-sweden/>
      o Busy Wikimedia semester at ITESM Campus Ciudad de México
        <http://blog.wikimedia.org/2013/05/15/education-program-mexico/>
  * Two *newsletters* posted:
      o 7 May 2013
        <https://outreach.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia_Education_Program/News/7_May_2013>
      o 21 May 2013
        <https://outreach.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia_Education_Program/News/21_May_2013>

== Human Resources ==

In May, HR completed extensive preparatory work to kick off the June
*annual review* cycle for the participation of all employees, including
some light redesign of last year's templates, a redesign of the format
and timing to work in a sprint-like approach, and training for new
managers. HR also contracted with Radford to conduct a thorough analysis
of the utility and application of existing *salary bands*, and in
comparison with market data, and working to update our compensation
philosophy. We have also transitioned *401k retirement funding*
advisors, and did research with the 401k committee to select new index
funds to make available for staff. Time was also spent streamlining data
with two of our providers and process in coordination with F&A, namely
around ADP and oDesk. HR also kicked off a group, self-named the
"aliens" club, to support our *expat employees and contractors* with
settling into life in the United States. We also completed the first
year of the WikiLead pilot, a program for Directors and other WMF
management on *leadership skills training*, and ran a pilot
*negotiations training* to help people engage constructively in
expectations setting and coming to shared agreeements. Overall, it has
been a month of heavy hiring and other activity for HR, which also
continues to support the search for the new Executive Director of the
Wikimedia Foundation (with a newly redesigned jobs page at
jobs.wikimedia.org <http://jobs.wikimedia.org>).

=== Staff Changes ===

New Requisitions Filled

  * Nik Everett, Senior Software Engineer (Engineering)
  * MunMay Galloway, Visual Designer (Engineering)
  * Alexandros Kosiaris, Operations Engineer (Engineering)
  * Meron Kristos, Staff Accountant (Finance)
  * Heather Walls, Communications Design Manager (Communications)
  * Yana Welinder, Legal Counsel (Legal)
  * Jared Zimmerman, Director of UX (Engineering)

New Legal Interns

  * Jennifer Bloom
  * Matthew Collins
  * Tiffany Li

New Contractors

  * Anna Lantz (Human Resources)
  * Robert Smith (Engineering)

Departures

  * Ram Ramanath
  * David Schoonover

Contracts Ended

  * Ashok Misra
  * Kraig Parkinson
  * Vanessa Sanchez
  * Joseph Seddon

New Postings

  * A/P Clerk
  * Arab World Education Program Manager
  * Fundraising Donor Services Associate
  * Global Education Program Manager
  * Product Manager | Platform
  * Recruitment Team Intern (Undergrad/Student)
  * Research Analyst
  * Wikimedia Foundation: Executive Director

=== Statistics ===

Total Requisitions Filled
    May Actual: 143
    May Total Plan: 174
    May Filled: 7, Month Attrition: 2,
    YTD Filled: 58, YTD Attrition: 27
    4 Canceled Requisitions for FY, as of May 31

Remaining Open Requisitions to fiscal year end
    27 (reflects 4 canceled requisitions for FY)

=== Department Updates ===

Real-time feed for HR updates

http://identi.ca/wikimediaatwork or http://twitter.com/wikimediaatwork

== Finance and Administration ==

  * Continued work on the Wikimedia Foundation *Annual Plan* with a
    final draft version presented to Stu West (Chair of the Audit
    Committee).
  * Have begun to *rebalance the reserves* of the Wikimedia Foundation
    so that more of the reserve is being held in bonds instead of
    certificates of deposit. This is being done to improve the real rate
    of return of the portfolio.
  * The Wikimedia Foundation - IRS *Form 990* for FY 2011-12 was posted
    on the Wikimedia Foundation web site
    <https://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Financial_reports#2011.E2.80.932012_fiscal_year>.
  * In addition to holding and paying in a group of currencies, we have
    begun work on reducing the cost of *converting USD to other
    curriences* when sending funds for payments or grants.

== Legal, Community Advocacy, and Communications Department ==

=== LCA Report, May 2013 ===

==== Contract Metrics ====

  * Submitted : 20
  * Completed : 19

==== Trademark Metrics ====

  * Submitted : 13
  * Approved : 2
  * Pending : 9
  * Denied : 2

<Image: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Metrics_and_Activities_Meeting_-_2013-06-06_-_01.jpg>
Yana Welinder explaining "naked licensing" in a presentation about
trademarks (slides
<https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Trademark_Policy_Presentation.pdf>)

==== Coming & Going ====

  * Yana Welinder
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:YWelinder_(WMF)> joined the LCA
team as
    legal counsel.
  * Four legal interns joined for the summer: Jennifer Bloom (Harvard),
    Matthew Collins (Columbia), and Tiffany Li (Georgetown).

==== Other Activities ====

  * LCA launched a community discussion
    <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikivoyage/Logo_announcement>
about the process for choosing
    a new Wikivoyage logo in the face of legal challenge to the former
    one. This also followed a new proposed logo selection procedure
    <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Logo_selection_procedure>. We
encourage people to participate!
  * LCA published a statement on trademark practices
    <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Trademark_practices_discussion>,
which requests community
    feedback on the Wikimedia trademark policy, procedures, and other
    questions. This is your opportunity to give us ideas as we consider
    updating our trademark policy and practices.
  * The minutes <https://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Minutes/2013-04-18> and
    resolutions from the WMF Board of Trustees April meeting were published.
  * Luis Villa <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:LVilla_(WMF)>
attended the Open Source
    Initiative board meeting in Washington D.C.
  * LCA began interviewing candidates for a new legal counsel position
    <http://hire.jobvite.com/Jobvite/Job.aspx?j=ooajXfwy&c=qSa9VfwQ>.
  * Updated Legal and Community Advocacy page on Meta
    <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Legal_and_Community_Advocacy>.
  * Two presentations from LCA were accepted at Wikimania 2013:
    Discussing Our Legal Strategy Going Forward: A Talk with the WMF
    General Counsel
    <http://wikimania2013.wikimedia.org/wiki/Submissions/Discussing_Our_Legal_Strategy_Going_Forward:_A_Talk_with_the_WMF_General_Counsel>
    (Geoff), Open Culture, Open Data, Open Source
    <http://wikimania2013.wikimedia.org/wiki/Submissions/Open_Culture,_Open_Data,_Open_Source>
    (Luis and Stephen)

=== Communications Report, May 2013 ===

May's major news focused on the announcement of the ED search process
for WMF, and some considerable residual attention paid to the issue of
the women American novelists category on EN Wikipedia. In May we also
welcomed Heather Walls as the communications team's first Communications
Design Manager.

==== Major announcements ====

    ‘’*The Wikimedia Foundation announces search for new Executive
    Director to lead the Wikimedia movement
    <https://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Press_releases/The_search_for_our_next_Executive_Director>*
    ’’(22 May 2013)

The Wikimedia Foundation has begun a global search for a new Executive
Director to lead the organization through its next phase of innovation
and growth. The new Executive Director will lead a thriving
international organization that operates the number five most-popular
web property in the world.

==== Major Storylines through March ====

Quite a bit of coverage through the month, largely focussing on
local/regional Wikipedia articles and topics of interest to niche audiences.

‘’Can Wikipedia predict the stock market?’’ (May 8)

Many outlets covered a May 8 Scientific Reports study that suggests
Wikipedia can be used to predict the behavior of the stock market,
specifically openly available page view stats for articles can predict
decreases in relevant stock prices. Coverage was predominantly positive
or neutral in tone.

    http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2013-05/8/wikipedia-views-stock-market
    http://www.yourmoney.com/your-money/news/2268887/can-wikipedia-predict-the-stock-market-computer-says-yes
    http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/markets/article-2326268/Visits-Wikipedia-predict-stock-market-movements.html

/Mapping of live, anon edits on WP makes headlines/ (May 13)

A popular visualization tool (http://rcmap.hatnote.com/#en) by WMF's own
Stephen LaPorte of current anonymous edits on Wikipedia received
substantial coverage through mid-May:

    http://mashable.com/2013/05/13/wikipedia-edits-live-map/
    http://boingboing.net/2013/05/13/realtime-map-of-anonymous-edit.html
    http://phys.org/news/2013-05-realtime-wikipedia-worldwide.html
    http://www.fastcocreate.com/1682965/view-all-unregistered-wikipedia-edits-in-real-time

/WMF launches its ED search/ (May 22)

We publicly launched our search for the next Executive Director of the
WMF in late May. Coverage was not extensive as the original announcement
of Sue's departure, although social media sharing was substantial.

    http://allthingsd.com/20130522/wikimedia-starts-hunt-for-new-executive-director/
    WMF Blog post
    <https://blog.wikimedia.org/2013/05/21/search-for-next-wikimedia-foundation-executive-director/>
    Economist Job posting
    <http://jobs.economist.com/job/4676/executive-director/>

==== Other worthwhile reads ====

Wikipedia's 'Nearby' Feature Pulls Up Articles Related to Your Location
<http://mashable.com/2013/05/30/wikipedia-nearby/> | Mashable | May 30

Wikipedia’s anti-Pagan crusade
<http://www.salon.com/2013/05/24/wikipedias_anti_pagan_crusade/> | Salon
| May 24

Wargaming supports open source
<http://www.develop-online.net/news/44296/Wargamingnet-supports-open-source>
| develop | May 24

Wikipedia to Appear in Shughni
<http://globalvoicesonline.org/2013/05/12/tajikistan-wikipedia-to-appear-in-shughni/>
| Global Voices | May 12

==== WMF Blog posts ====

Thirty-nine blog posts in May <https://blog.wikimedia.org/2013/05/>,
with bilingual posts <https://blog.wikimedia.org/tag/multilingual-post/>
in Arabic, Catalan, French, German, Russian, Japanese, Serbian, Spanish
and Swedish. The Wikimedia blog is moving rapidly towards more than 50%
content available in a language other than English. Some highlights from
the month:

  * *A librarian uses her expertise to improve Wikipedia
    <https://blog.wikimedia.org/2013/05/06/a-librarian-uses-her-expertise-to-improve-wikipedia/>*

  * *Spanish Wikipedia surpasses the 1 million article milestone
    <https://blog.wikimedia.org/2013/05/17/spanish-wikipedia-1-million-articles/>*

  * *Russian Wikipedia celebrates 12th anniversary and millionth article
    <http://blog.wikimedia.org/2013/05/23/russian-wikipedia-millionth-article/>*

  * *Documenting the Eurovision Song Contest 2013 for Wikimedia
    <https://blog.wikimedia.org/2013/05/31/documenting-eurovision-for-wikimedia/>*

==== Media Contact ====

https://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Press_room/Media_Contact#May_2013

==== Wikipedia Signpost ====

For lots of detailed coverage and news summaries, see the
community-edited newsletter “Wikipedia Signpost” for May 2013:

  * Volume 9, Issue 17
    <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Wikipedia_Signpost/Archives/2013-05-06>,
    6 May 2013
  * Volume 9, Issue 18
    <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Wikipedia_Signpost/Archives/2013-05-13>,
    13 May 2013
  * Volume 9, Issue 19
    <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Wikipedia_Signpost/Archives/2013-05-20>,
    20 May 2013
  * Volume 9, Issue 20
    <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Wikipedia_Signpost/Archives/2013-05-27>,
    27 May 2013

== Visitors and Guests ==

Visitors and guests to the WMF office in May 2013:

 1. Sarah Pearson (Creative Commons)
 2. Sara Crouse (Creative Commons)
 3. Eric Steuer (Creative Commons)
 4. Elliot Harmon (Creative Commons)
 5. Kellie Brownell (The Ada Initiative)
 6. Peter Coopr (Paul Hastings)
 7. Rishi Sharma (Paul Hastings)
 8. Virginia Sutton (J&D)
 9. Deb Wolter (Red Bamboo Consulting)
10. Rudy Rucker (Monkey Brains)
11. Michael Stella (McCladrey)
12. R. Schmidt (McCladrey)
13. Lisa Grossman (m|Oppenheim)
14. Mike Schwartz (Senior VP Engineering, Wikia)
15. Jennifer Garvey Berger (Cultivating Leadership)
16. Jim Nelson (executive director, Yorba)
17. Chaz, Eric, Lucas, Clinton (Engineers, Yorba)
18. Leif Johanssen (SUNET)
19. Valter Nordh (SUNET)
20. Simon Phipps (MariaDB Foundation)
21. Somnath Ray (Timescape)
22. Kathy Reich (Packard Foundation)
23. Anna Stillwell (Human Project)
24. Alex Gladstein (Oslo Freedom Forum)
25. R.P. (Open Knowledge Foundation)
26. Debbie Walter (Red Bamboo Consulting)
27. Nash Hurley (Vital)
28. Taylor Keep (Vital)
29. Lisa Grossman (m|Oppenheim)
30. Kathy Ramsey (TAI)
31. Aloka Archige (Forte)
32. Sarah Nagel (IIE)
33. Audrey Milo (C & RE)
34. Brian Lee (Forte)
35. Sophie Österberg (WMSE)
36. Valerie Aurora (TAI)
37. Mary Gardiner (TAI)

--
Tilman Bayer
Senior Operations Analyst (Movement Communications)
Wikimedia Foundation
IRC (Freenode): HaeB

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source: pipermail-mbox

body:
I don't think the issue here is with AffCom; rather, it's with the WMF's standard choices of hotels, which tend towards the more expensive options. I hope that the WMF can revise its approach here and start selecting more reasonably-priced hotels for those it's booking accommodation for, whether they are volunteers or staff.

Thanks,
Mike

On 13 May 2013, at 20:45, Nathan <nawrich at gmail.com> wrote:

> $200 per person per night for international travel is not outrageous.
> It's actually quite reasonable, in my opinion, for business travel. I
> don't think it reasonable to expect people who don't know eachother or
> even work together to room together for a week in a foreign country.
> The question you should be asking isn't "are the rates of expenses in
> Hong Kong too high" but "did the purpose of the travel justify the
> facially reasonable expenses."
>
> ~Nathan
>
> _______________________________________________
> Wikimedia-l mailing list
> Wikimedia-l at lists.wikimedia.org
> Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l