Re: Discussion about a way forward Was: Re: Wikipedia at 25: A Wake-Up Call (essay)

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Dear Christophe and all,

Many of the trustees and WMF leadership have been following these threads
and have had similar conversations with other community members (both
on-wiki
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Talk:Wikimedia_Foundation_Annual_Plan/2026=
-2027>
and in other spaces
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_Annual_Plan/2026-2027=
/Collaboration#Co-created_Community_spaces>)
about the change we need to deliver Wikimedia's mission with the internet
at an inflection point. You yourself were present, together with many
executives and Trustees, for the Wikimedia Futures Lab
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Futures_Lab/Events>.

You'll see in our annual plan
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_Annual_Plan/2026-2027=
>
that we've been tracking these global trends. Wikipedia is seeing declines
in pageviews
<https://diff.wikimedia.org/2026/03/10/engaging-and-reengaging-wikipedia-re=
aders/>
and referral traffic from Google, and unprecedented increases in bot
traffic. We believe this is not a temporary phenomenon, but a structural
shift and we are acting to mitigate this. The world needs us all to evolve
and adapt. We are looking forward to continuing the conversation at
Wikimania where the organisers have created lots of discussion spaces on
the agenda <https://wikimedia.eventyay.com/wm/wikimania2026/schedule/> and
on-wiki
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation/Board_of_Trustees/Com=
munity_and_Affiliate_Liaisons>
for those not able to attend.

We are also happy to meet you at the call you are organising
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Event:This_is_not_a_meeting>, in our
continued commitment to talking to Wikimedia volunteers where they gather,
not only in spaces created by the Foundation. Talk to you soon!

Thanks,
*Maciej Nadzikiewicz (User:Nadzik)*
Community & Affiliates Liaison of the Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustee=
s

pt., 3 lip 2026 o 21:23 Christophe Henner via Wikimedia-l <
[email protected]> napisa=C5=82(a):

> I'm forking my original thread
>
> I love the discussion and energy so much that I'd like to offer a "meetup=
"
> on the topic. I've created an event for next week, and to avoid endless
> discussion on the call name: This is not a meeting:
> https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Event:This_is_not_a_meeting on Tuesday
> 19:00 UTC.
>
> I tried to strike a balance between structured enough to manage
> expectations but open enough too. I've added a stub of an agenda, with a
> goal to create a baseline on things there's agreement on, plus ideas,
> suggestions, etc. to move forward.
>
> I would love to open the floor with 2 or 3 three-minute lightning talks
> for people to present/share a view on the situation, so we can start the
> discussion with a few statements. Anyone interested, just send me a messa=
ge
> or leave one on the Event talk page, I'll reach out.
>
> And then break into groups for people to talk about specific topics (I've
> made proposals on the page, but they would benefit from other people's
> insights to improve them). Then re-group for discussion, no more than 5
> minutes. And I've added a 42-minute overflow, so that if people want to
> linger around, they can. But if people can't do more than an hour of
> meeting, they can very easily leave the discussion.
>
> And that leaves us a few days to prepare and keep talking in writing. :)
>
> Now that the discussion has started, I'd like to quote a great philosophe=
r
> about something we'd like to avoid: "For a moment, nothing happened. Then=
,
> after a second or so, nothing continued to happen."
> Have all a great day :)
>
> --
> Christophe
>
> On Fri, Jul 3, 2026 at 12:10=E2=80=AFAM Samuel Klein via Wikimedia-l <
> [email protected]> wrote:
>
>> Dear Nada, excellent framing.  It is entirely in our control to fix
>> outreach, build welcoming and forgiving environments, make strides with
>> less-resource languages and communities.
>>
>> Christophe, thanks again for persisting in this thread (and planning a
>> range of activities around Wikimania!)  I see many people engaged with
>> these topics who don't want to engage in discussion about angst over
>> current problems, but are deeply enthusiastic about, and actively engage=
d
>> in, building new things / working on new possibilities.
>>
>> Brooke writes:
>> > Wikimedia is a participatory system... We have to put in the work
>> ourselves.
>>
>> Absolutely.  The civilized netizen's first duty is to be always prepared
>> to rewrite <https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Umberto_Eco> anything truly
>> important from scratch.
>>
>> Galder writes:
>>
>>> One correction: I'm not a trustee!
>>>
>>
>> But we surely trust you, including to make the world's best Txikipedia.
>>
>> We have many good ideas and talented people in the community.  We do
>> need persistent spaces to discuss and make plans, in part because in the
>> last growth spurt we fragmented communication channels across hundreds o=
f
>> pages, sites, lists, and apps.  Recombining many of those streams would =
be
>> good for coherence and continuity.
>>
>> But our wikis are better suited to experimenting, reverting, and
>> iterating than distilling large-scale consensus. Quick decisions by
>> ~sortition (or by the first few people to turn up) help polish the rough=
est
>> edges. Having spaces that push back against the iron law
>> <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron_law_of_oligarchy> of oligarchy and
>> preserve freedom to experiment is essential, even when simultaneously
>> waiting for delayed consensus.
>>
>> Our strongest shared identity is as people committed to building
>> freely-licensed knowledge together, in every language, accessible to the
>> entire world. More people care about this today than ever before. We sim=
ply
>> have to make space for it again.
>>
>> =F0=9D=90=96=E2=99=A1, SJ
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> Wikimedia-l mailing list -- [email protected], guidelines
>> at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines and
>> https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia-l
>> Public archives at
>> https://lists.wikimedia.org/hyperkitty/list/[email protected]=
org/message/RJV4EYFT53SYRNXZPOMP54CXTRGWLNB3/
>> To unsubscribe send an email to wikimedia-l-leave-RusutVdil2icGmH+5r0DM0B+6BGkLq7r@public.gmane.org
>
> _______________________________________________
> Wikimedia-l mailing list -- [email protected], guidelines
> at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines and
> https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia-l
> Public archives at
> https://lists.wikimedia.org/hyperkitty/list/[email protected]=
rg/message/UH4I4Z2L6NQPKMDSARJF6242CVYUKA7Y/
> To unsubscribe send an email to wikimedia-l-leave-RusutVdil2icGmH+5r0DM0B+6BGkLq7r@public.gmane.org



--=20
*User:Nadzik <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Nadzik>*

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<div dir=3D"ltr"><div dir=3D"auto">Dear Christophe and all,</div><div dir=
=3D"auto"><br></div><div dir=3D"auto">Many of the trustees and WMF leadersh=
ip have been following these threads and have had similar conversations wit=
h other community members (both <a href=3D"https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/=
Talk:Wikimedia_Foundation_Annual_Plan/2026-2027">on-wiki</a> and <a href=3D=
"https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_Annual_Plan/2026-2027=
/Collaboration#Co-created_Community_spaces">in other spaces</a>) about the =
change we need to deliver Wikimedia&#39;s mission with the internet at an i=
nflection point. You yourself were present, together with many executives a=
nd Trustees, for the <a href=3D"https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_F=
utures_Lab/Events">Wikimedia Futures Lab</a>.</div><div dir=3D"auto"><br></=
div><div dir=3D"auto">You&#39;ll see in our <a href=3D"https://meta.wikimed=
ia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_Annual_Plan/2026-2027">annual plan</a> tha=
t we&#39;ve been tracking these global trends. Wikipedia is seeing <a href=
=3D"https://diff.wikimedia.org/2026/03/10/engaging-and-reengaging-wikipedia=
-readers/">declines in pageviews</a> and referral traffic from Google, and =
unprecedented increases in bot traffic. We believe this is not a temporary =
phenomenon, but a structural shift and we are acting to mitigate this. The =
world needs us all to evolve and adapt. We are looking forward to continuin=
g the conversation at Wikimania where the organisers have created lots of <=
a href=3D"https://wikimedia.eventyay.com/wm/wikimania2026/schedule/">discus=
sion spaces on the agenda</a> and <a href=3D"https://meta.wikimedia.org/wik=
i/Wikimedia_Foundation/Board_of_Trustees/Community_and_Affiliate_Liaisons">=
on-wiki</a> for those not able to attend.</div><div dir=3D"auto"><br></div>=
<div dir=3D"auto"><div dir=3D"auto">We are also happy to meet you at the=C2=
=A0<a href=3D"https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Event:This_is_not_a_meeting">=
call you are organising</a>, in our continued commitment to talking to Wiki=
media volunteers where they gather, not only in spaces created by the Found=
ation. Talk to you soon!</div><div dir=3D"auto"><br></div></div><div dir=3D=
"auto">Thanks,</div><div dir=3D"auto"><b>Maciej Nadzikiewicz (User:Nadzik)<=
/b></div><div dir=3D"auto">Community &amp; Affiliates Liaison of the Wikime=
dia Foundation Board of Trustees</div></div><br><div class=3D"gmail_quote g=
mail_quote_container"><div dir=3D"ltr" class=3D"gmail_attr">pt., 3 lip 2026=
 o 21:23=C2=A0Christophe Henner via Wikimedia-l &lt;<a href=3D"mailto:wikim=
[email protected]">[email protected]</a>&gt; napisa=
=C5=82(a):<br></div><blockquote class=3D"gmail_quote" style=3D"margin:0px 0=
px 0px 0.8ex;border-left:1px solid rgb(204,204,204);padding-left:1ex"><div =
dir=3D"ltr"><div dir=3D"ltr"><div><div style=3D"font-size:inherit"><p style=
=3D"color:rgb(0,0,0)">I&#39;m forking my original thread</p><p style=3D"col=
or:rgb(0,0,0)">I love the discussion and energy so much that I&#39;d like t=
o offer a &quot;meetup&quot; on the topic. I&#39;ve created an event for ne=
xt week, and to avoid endless discussion on the call name: This is not a me=
eting:<span>=C2=A0</span><a href=3D"https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Event:T=
his_is_not_a_meeting" target=3D"_blank">https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Eve=
nt:This_is_not_a_meeting</a><span>=C2=A0</span>on Tuesday 19:00 UTC.</p><p =
style=3D"color:rgb(0,0,0)">I tried to strike a balance between structured e=
nough to manage expectations but open enough too. I&#39;ve added a stub of =
an agenda, with a goal to create a baseline on things there&#39;s agreement=
 on, plus ideas, suggestions, etc. to move forward.</p><p style=3D"color:rg=
b(0,0,0)">I would love to open the floor with 2 or 3 three-minute lightning=
 talks for people to present/share a view on the situation, so we can start=
 the discussion with a few statements. Anyone interested, just send me a me=
ssage or leave one on the Event talk page,=C2=A0I&#39;ll reach out.=C2=A0</=
p><p style=3D"color:rgb(0,0,0)">And then break into groups for people to ta=
lk about specific topics (I&#39;ve made proposals on the page, but they wou=
ld benefit from other people&#39;s insights to=C2=A0improve them). Then re-=
group for discussion, no more than 5 minutes. And I&#39;ve added a 42-minut=
e overflow, so that if people want to linger around, they can. But if peopl=
e can&#39;t do more than an hour of meeting, they can very easily leave the=
 discussion.</p><p style=3D"color:rgb(0,0,0)">And that leaves us a few days=
 to prepare and keep talking in writing. :)</p><p style=3D"color:rgb(0,0,0)=
">Now that the discussion has started, I&#39;d like to quote a great philos=
opher about something we&#39;d like to avoid: &quot;For a moment, nothing h=
appened. Then, after a second or so, nothing continued to happen.&quot;</p>=
</div></div><div>Have all a great day :)</div><div><br clear=3D"all"><div><=
div dir=3D"ltr" class=3D"gmail_signature">--<br>Christophe</div></div></div=
></div><div><br><div class=3D"gmail_quote"><div dir=3D"ltr" class=3D"gmail_=
attr">On Fri, Jul 3, 2026 at 12:10=E2=80=AFAM Samuel Klein via Wikimedia-l =
&lt;<a href=3D"mailto:[email protected]" target=3D"_blank">wi=
[email protected]</a>&gt; wrote:<br></div><blockquote class=3D"=
gmail_quote" style=3D"margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left:1px solid rgb(20=
4,204,204);padding-left:1ex"><div dir=3D"ltr"><div dir=3D"ltr"><div dir=3D"=
ltr"><div dir=3D"ltr"><div dir=3D"ltr"><div dir=3D"ltr"><span style=3D"back=
ground-color:transparent">Dear Nada, excellent framing.=C2=A0 It is entirel=
y in our control to fix outreach, build welcoming and forgiving environment=
s, make strides with less-resource languages and communities.=C2=A0 <br><br=
>Christophe, thanks again for persisting in this thread (and planning a ran=
ge of activities around Wikimania!)=C2=A0 I see many people engaged with th=
ese topics who=C2=A0</span><span style=3D"background-color:transparent">don=
&#39;t want to engage in discussion about angst over current problems, but =
are deeply enthusiastic about, and actively engaged in, building new things=
 / working on new possibilities.</span></div><div dir=3D"ltr"><span style=
=3D"background-color:transparent"><br>Brooke writes:=C2=A0=C2=A0<br></span>=
<span style=3D"background-color:transparent">&gt; Wikimedia is a participat=
ory system...=C2=A0</span><span style=3D"background-color:transparent">We <=
/span>have to<span style=3D"background-color:transparent"> put in the work =
ourselves.</span></div><div dir=3D"ltr"><br></div><div dir=3D"ltr">Absolute=
ly.=C2=A0 The civilized netizen&#39;s first duty is <a href=3D"https://en.w=
ikiquote.org/wiki/Umberto_Eco" target=3D"_blank">to be always prepared to r=
ewrite</a>=C2=A0anything truly important from scratch.=C2=A0=C2=A0<br><div>=
<br></div><span style=3D"background-color:transparent">Galder writes:</span=
></div><div class=3D"gmail_quote"><blockquote class=3D"gmail_quote" style=
=3D"margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left:1px solid rgb(204,204,204);padding=
-left:1ex"><div>




<div dir=3D"ltr">
<div style=3D"font-family:Calibri,Helvetica,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0)">
One correction: I&#39;m not a trustee!</div>
<div id=3D"m_2286707471688620157m_5780306257926595954m_825098896065876282m_=
6520172203024871229m_8356870054322612186m_-6692941270673887459m_42186065581=
73225528m_-6615731068182817330appendonsend"></div>
</div></div></blockquote></div><div dir=3D"ltr" class=3D"gmail_signature"><=
/div><div dir=3D"ltr"><br><div dir=3D"ltr">But we surely trust you, includi=
ng to make the world&#39;s best Txikipedia.=C2=A0</div><br><div class=3D"gm=
ail_quote"></div>We have many good ideas and talented people in the communi=
ty.=C2=A0=C2=A0<span style=3D"background-color:transparent">We do need pers=
istent spaces to discuss and make plans, in part because </span>in<span sty=
le=3D"background-color:transparent"> the last growth spurt we fragmented co=
mmunication channels across hundreds of pages, sites, lists, and apps.=C2=
=A0 Recombining many of those streams would be good for coherence and conti=
nuity.</span></div><div dir=3D"ltr"><br>But our wikis are better suited to =
experimenting, reverting, and iterating than distilling large-scale consens=
us. Quick decisions by ~sortition (or by the first few people to turn up) h=
elp polish the roughest edges. Having spaces that push back against the <a =
href=3D"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron_law_of_oligarchy" target=3D"_bla=
nk">iron law</a> of oligarchy and preserve freedom to experiment is essenti=
al, even when simultaneously waiting for delayed consensus.<br><br>Our stro=
ngest shared identity is as people committed to building freely-licensed kn=
owledge together, in every language, accessible to the entire world. More p=
eople care about this today than ever before. We simply have to make space =
for it again.</div><div dir=3D"ltr"><br></div><div dir=3D"ltr">=F0=9D=90=96=
=E2=99=A1,=C2=A0SJ</div><div dir=3D"ltr"><br></div></div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
_______________________________________________<br>
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rg" target=3D"_blank">[email protected]</a>, guidelines at: <=
a href=3D"https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines" rel=3D"=
noreferrer" target=3D"_blank">https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists=
/Guidelines</a> and <a href=3D"https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia-l"=
 rel=3D"noreferrer" target=3D"_blank">https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikim=
edia-l</a><br>
Public archives at <a href=3D"https://lists.wikimedia.org/hyperkitty/list/w=
[email protected]/message/RJV4EYFT53SYRNXZPOMP54CXTRGWLNB3/" r=
el=3D"noreferrer" target=3D"_blank">https://lists.wikimedia.org/hyperkitty/=
list/[email protected]/message/RJV4EYFT53SYRNXZPOMP54CXTRGWLN=
B3/</a><br>
To unsubscribe send an email to <a href=3D"mailto:[email protected]=
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blockquote></div></div>
</div>
_______________________________________________<br>
Wikimedia-l mailing list -- <a href=3D"mailto:[email protected]=
rg" target=3D"_blank">[email protected]</a>, guidelines at: <=
a href=3D"https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines" rel=3D"=
noreferrer" target=3D"_blank">https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists=
/Guidelines</a> and <a href=3D"https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia-l"=
 rel=3D"noreferrer" target=3D"_blank">https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikim=
edia-l</a><br>
Public archives at <a href=3D"https://lists.wikimedia.org/hyperkitty/list/w=
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blockquote></div><div><br clear=3D"all"></div><div><br></div><span class=3D=
"gmail_signature_prefix">-- </span><br><div dir=3D"ltr" class=3D"gmail_sign=
ature"><div dir=3D"ltr"><div dir=3D"ltr" style=3D"color:rgb(34,34,34)"><div=
 dir=3D"ltr"><b><a href=3D"https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Nadzik" sty=
le=3D"color:rgb(17,85,204)" target=3D"_blank">User:Nadzik</a></b></div></di=
v></div></div>

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