The first smile and photobomb ever photographed
Six months of work at the National Library of Wales is already showing great benefits.
Writing an open-access encyclopedia in a closed-access world
On Friday, Elsevier, one of the world’s largest academic publishers, announced its recent partnership with the Wikipedia Library—a program that helps editors access reliable sources to improve Wikipedia. The collaboration gave 45 ScienceDirect accounts to Wikipedia volunteers, to use the database’s scholarly literature for research when writing and editing the encyclopedia. The announcement led to….
Hundreds of “black hat” English Wikipedia accounts blocked following investigation
After weeks of investigation, volunteer editors on English Wikipedia announced today that they blocked 381 user accounts for undisclosed paid advocacy.
Wikipedia is better equipped to deal with systemic bias than traditional publishers
In 2010, the artists Ditte Ejlerskov and EvaMarie Lindahl contacted Taschen, a book publisher, to point out that out of 97 volumes published in the Basic Art series, only five included women: Tamara de Lempicka, Maria Helena Vieira da Silva, Frida Kahlo, Georgia O’Keeffe, and Jeanne-Claude (who shares a volume and a Wikipedia article with her collaborator and husband Christo). Taschen asked the pair about which….
My life as an autistic Wikipedian
Two years ago, I discovered that I was on the autism spectrum. As I learned more about myself and the way my brain worked, I started to look at past experiences through the lens of this newly-found aspect. In this essay, I share some of what I’ve learned along the way about my successes, my failures, and many things that confused me in the past, notably in my experiences in the Wikimedia movement.
7,473 volumes at 700 pages each: meet Print Wikipedia
Wikipedia has finally been printed! Ever wonder what your favorite Wikipedia article would look like in real life? Well know you can check out the exhibit Print Wikipedia in Denny Gallery (261 Broome Street), New York.
A dark side of comedy: the impact of John Oliver’s ‘fowl’ jokes on Wikipedia
After John Oliver called on the Internet to vandalize the Wikipedia biographies of US congressional representatives, Wikipedia's volunteer editors cleaned up the vandalism.
A Wikimedian asks European Parliament members for copyright reform
European copyright laws are very complex, making it hard to share free knowledge. To address this issue, a longtime Wikimedia contributor traveled to Brussels to meet members of the European Parliament and explain why copyright reform is needed.
What happens when you give a Wikipedia editor a research library?
The Wikipedia Visiting Scholars program gives editors special access to university and library resources, which helps them improve content quality and support new collaborations, as part of the Wikipedia Library project.
A behind the scenes look at the Wikimedia Foundation’s emergency response system
When my work phone rings in the middle of the night, I don’t ever have to wonder what it is. As one of the team of five who are charged with addressing emails sent to the Wikimedia Foundation’s emergency address, I sleep lightly on nights when I’m on call. [...]