Those on whom the entire encyclopedia rests, threaten to quit after the decision of the Wikimedia Foundation.
The Wikimedia Foundation faced a sharp reaction of Wikipedia editors after the decision to dissolve the Community Tech team. This group overwhelmed community queries through the Community Wishlist program for years: correcting errors, refined moderation tools, and improved workflows for volunteers.
Dissatisfaction quickly turned into a discussion of protests. On Wikimedia forums, editors argue how to answer the foundation: some participants offer a strike, others want to temporarily stop the handful fight against vandalism. The idea of replacing banners to collect donations with messages critical of cuts was also discussed.
The fund confirmed The Register that the reorganization affected six posts related to the Community Whislist. Among them were engineers and the head of the direction. Employees still remain in the organization, and the management is looking for other positions for them inside Wikimedia. Those who do not find a new place will leave next month with weekend payments.
Wikimedia explains the decision by an internal inspection that began last year. The management concluded that one dedicated team no longer copes with the flow of requests from the editors. According to the organization, the problem is related to the scale of the Wikipedia software infrastructure and the number of channels through which the community sends wishes.
Now Community Wishlist’s requests should be distributed within the broader product and technology department. Formally, the fund does not refuse to work with the requests of the editors, but removes a separate group that previously hosted, sorted and brought part of the tasks to be implemented.
Many Wikipedia members were not convinced by this explanation. The editorial community believes that the management is moving further away from people who support the largest online encyclopedia in working condition for free. The financial side caused additional irritation: in the last annual report, the organization showed almost $ 300 million of assets, but at the same time reduces the engineering team, which worked directly for the needs of editors.
The situation was complicated by the connection of some of the affected employees with the trade union initiative. According to The Register, several people who were under the reorganization participated in the early discussions of Wiki Workers United. One of the engineers whose position was affected by the changes, earlier this month created a page of the trade union group on Wikimedia Meta. After that, some editors began to accuse the foundation of trying to suppress the association of employees.
The Wikimedia Foundation denies these accusations. The organization claims that the distribution of the Community Tech has nothing to do with the discussion of the union, and employees were not fired for participating in such conversations. The Fund also emphasizes that a formal request for the recognition of the trade union has not yet been received. If employees vote for the merger, the management promises to act on a legal procedure.
For Wikipedia, conflict is not only dangerous. A significant part of the daily protection of the encyclopedia is based on voluntary editors: they roll back vandal revisions, remove spam, monitor mystifications and restore damaged articles. Even a short pause in this work can quickly become noticeable to readers.
The Wikimedia Foundation faced a sharp reaction of Wikipedia editors after the decision to dissolve the Community Tech team. This group overwhelmed community queries through the Community Wishlist program for years: correcting errors, refined moderation tools, and improved workflows for volunteers.
Dissatisfaction quickly turned into a discussion of protests. On Wikimedia forums, editors argue how to answer the foundation: some participants offer a strike, others want to temporarily stop the handful fight against vandalism. The idea of replacing banners to collect donations with messages critical of cuts was also discussed.
The fund confirmed The Register that the reorganization affected six posts related to the Community Whislist. Among them were engineers and the head of the direction. Employees still remain in the organization, and the management is looking for other positions for them inside Wikimedia. Those who do not find a new place will leave next month with weekend payments.
Wikimedia explains the decision by an internal inspection that began last year. The management concluded that one dedicated team no longer copes with the flow of requests from the editors. According to the organization, the problem is related to the scale of the Wikipedia software infrastructure and the number of channels through which the community sends wishes.
Now Community Wishlist’s requests should be distributed within the broader product and technology department. Formally, the fund does not refuse to work with the requests of the editors, but removes a separate group that previously hosted, sorted and brought part of the tasks to be implemented.
Many Wikipedia members were not convinced by this explanation. The editorial community believes that the management is moving further away from people who support the largest online encyclopedia in working condition for free. The financial side caused additional irritation: in the last annual report, the organization showed almost $ 300 million of assets, but at the same time reduces the engineering team, which worked directly for the needs of editors.
The situation was complicated by the connection of some of the affected employees with the trade union initiative. According to The Register, several people who were under the reorganization participated in the early discussions of Wiki Workers United. One of the engineers whose position was affected by the changes, earlier this month created a page of the trade union group on Wikimedia Meta. After that, some editors began to accuse the foundation of trying to suppress the association of employees.
The Wikimedia Foundation denies these accusations. The organization claims that the distribution of the Community Tech has nothing to do with the discussion of the union, and employees were not fired for participating in such conversations. The Fund also emphasizes that a formal request for the recognition of the trade union has not yet been received. If employees vote for the merger, the management promises to act on a legal procedure.
For Wikipedia, conflict is not only dangerous. A significant part of the daily protection of the encyclopedia is based on voluntary editors: they roll back vandal revisions, remove spam, monitor mystifications and restore damaged articles. Even a short pause in this work can quickly become noticeable to readers.
