Wikipedia:WikiProject Open/planning

Let's build WikiProject Open!

Starting in late 2013, we are using this page to think through what will create a thriving, productive, and self-sustaining project. To support that process, we're having a few planning calls, using webinar software. Please join us!

Upcoming planning meetings (#2 and #3)

Tuesday evening 15 October (Americas) / Wednesday morning 16 October (Asia, Australia)

4:00am Wednesday UTC (Click for exact time in your city)

Column-generating template families

The templates listed here are not interchangeable. For example, using {{col-float}} with {{col-end}} instead of {{col-float-end}} would leave a <div>...</div> open, potentially harming any subsequent formatting.

Column templates
Type	Family	Handles wiki table code?^†	Responsive/ mobile suited	Start template	Column divider	End template
Float	"col-float"	Yes	Yes	{{col-float}}	{{col-float-break}}	{{col-float-end}}
Float	"columns-start"	Yes	Yes	{{columns-start}}	{{column}}	{{columns-end}}
Columns	"div col"	Yes	Yes	{{div col}}	–	{{div col end}}
Columns	"columns-list"	No	Yes	{{columns-list}} (wraps div col)	–	–
Flexbox	"flex columns"	No	Yes	{{flex columns}}	–	–
Table	"col"	Yes	No	{{col-begin}}, {{col-begin-fixed}} or {{col-begin-small}}	{{col-break}} or {{col-2}} .. {{col-5}}	{{col-end}}

^† Can the template handle the basic wiki markup {| | || |- |} used to create tables? If not, special templates that produce these elements (such as {{(!}}, {{!}}, {{!!}}, {{!-}}, {{!)}}) or HTML tags (<table>...</table>, <tr>...</tr>, etc.) need to be used instead.

Thursday morning 17 October (Americas) / Thursday afternoon (Europe, Africa)

note updated time: 20:00 Thursday UTC (Click for exact time in your city)

Column-generating template families

Column templates
Type	Family	Handles wiki table code?^†	Responsive/ mobile suited	Start template	Column divider	End template
Float	"col-float"	Yes	Yes	{{col-float}}	{{col-float-break}}	{{col-float-end}}
Float	"columns-start"	Yes	Yes	{{columns-start}}	{{column}}	{{columns-end}}
Columns	"div col"	Yes	Yes	{{div col}}	–	{{div col end}}
Columns	"columns-list"	No	Yes	{{columns-list}} (wraps div col)	–	–
Flexbox	"flex columns"	No	Yes	{{flex columns}}	–	–
Table	"col"	Yes	No	{{col-begin}}, {{col-begin-fixed}} or {{col-begin-small}}	{{col-break}} or {{col-2}} .. {{col-5}}	{{col-end}}

Format: Blackboard Collaborate (Java-based webinar software) Use the following link to connect: j.mp/wikiSOOconf

Please connect a few minutes before the call; it can take a little time to connect, and occasionally you may need to restart your computer for it to connect.

Optional 2-hour parallel work session to build out the project pages, immediately following the call: we will continue to use Blackboard Collaborate, and/or tools like IRC.

Topics for discussion

How to make a WikiProject attractive, inviting, and vibrant? Some ideas for consideration:
- Eugene Eric Kim's suggestions for how to make a "delightful" space for virtual collaboration
- WikiProjects identified during first planning meeting as having a good layout:
  - WikiProject Military History
  - WikiProject Feminism
- A peer reviewed study of WikiProjects found great merit in programs like "Collaboration of the Week"

Participants (Tuesday 15 Oct-Wednesday 16 Oct meeting)

Please add your name if you plan to join us for the second planning call! (Tuesday evening in Americas; Wednesday daytime in Asia, Australia)

Pete (talk)
Blue Rasberry (talk) 23:43, 12 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]
Sara FB
(your name here)

Participants (Thursday 17 Oct meeting)

Please add your name if you plan to join us for the third planning call (daytime for Americas, Europe, Africa)

Pete (talk)
Blue Rasberry (talk) 23:43, 12 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]
Sara FB
Daniel Mietchen (talk) 23:43, 13 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]
--Janeatcc (talk) 22:25, 15 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]
(your name here)

Project name

The name WikiProject Open (like everything on Wikipedia!) is of course open to revision.

Reason for "WP Open": create something that ties together and supports a number of related topics, such as Open educational resources, Open Access, Free/open source software, Open Science, etc. There is a great deal of crossover among these topics/movements, and by taking a broad view, it should be possible to accomplish more, and build more ongoing momentum. (This idea, by the way, is an outgrowth of the Communicate OER project.)

First planning call

We held a meeting Thursday 3 October 2013 at 15:00 UTC (time designed to appeal to Americas, Europe, Africa; but we ended up with participants from SE Asia, too!)

Notes

Archived session (1 hour video, requires Java software)

We kept notes on two Etherpads (the first one crashed, so we adjusted!)

Pete's writeup/synthesis/loose proposal for immediate steps

In our first planning call, we looked at examples of a number of different WikiProjects, and discussed the relative merits of various approaches. We also explored our strengths and problems within the "open" space:

Strength: we have highly specific, useful WikiProject pages about Open Access and about OER.
Problem: Discussion pages associated with OA and with OER do not have sufficient interaction to feel active and welcoming.
Vision: With minimal disruption to the substantive, non-discussion pages already in use, let's build some lightweight links to tie them together sensibly; but also take steps to push discussion related to these areas onto the same discussion page. Also, for the time being, let's encourage the use of the Wikimedia Open Access email list for a broader array of discussion topics than "open access" might suggest.
Caveat/explanation: Although it would theoretically be problematic to have too many discussions about different topics all colliding in the same place (whether it be a Wikipedia talk page or an email list), this is not a problem we have ever had to date. If in a few months we have this problem, we should consider that a mark of success of this project! and take steps at that time and not before to separate out discussions in a way that makes sense to active participants. (New email list, renaming of email list, new Wikipedia discussion pages, etc.)

Specific steps to take now:

Make no substantial changes to the WikiProject Open Access main page (beyond a clear link to WikiProject Open of some kind Done)

Create WikiProject Open as a supplementary page, with a link to WikiProject Open Access featured very prominently ( Done, at least partially! See tabs above)
- Change the redirect [[WP:OPEN]] to point to WikiProject Open Done
- Prominently list the Wikimedia Open Access email list as the primary email address affiliated with WP:OPEN, with a very clear and concise explanation of why the name doesn't match the WikiProject name, stating that topics relating to "open" with regards to publishing, education, etc. are welcome on the list
Through the use of redirects, make the discussion page for WikiProject Open Access, the discussion page for Communicate OER, and the discussion page for the Writing Wikipedia Articles class all point to [[WT:Wikipedia_talk:WikiProject_Open]] (with the shortcut [[WT:OPEN]]) -- so that we are generally all talking in the same place
- Create a nice message at the top of the combined talk page that clearly explains what it is
- Link to the archives from all 3 (now defunct) talk pages prominently at the top of [[WT:OPEN]])
Clearly communicate what we are doing and why to all related communities (i.e., free & open software, open data, open government…) -- a broader reach than those we are directly tinkering with, such as WikiProjects related to free/open source software, Linux, etc. Invite them to get involved with this if they want to, but do not pressure them to do so!

Format of first call

This will of course depend somewhat on how many participants we have.

Fishbowl: select about 4 experienced WikiProject members/leaders to talk through what should happen; after about 15 minutes, we can start circulating others into the discussion. After 40 minutes, we could open it up to general comments, ideas, and questions from everyone on the call.
Wide open format based on a written agenda of topics, with a facilitator to pick who speaks next
Other ideas?

Agenda for first call: overview/main goals

Etherpad for live notes during call:

first hour: http://etherpad.wikimedia.org/WikiProjectOpen
second hours: http://pad.p2pu.org/WikiProjectOpen

At minimum, I suggest we should seek to address:

Should WikiProject Open Access convert to WikiProject Open and support all open efforts? (see talk page for further discussion)
- there's been lots of interest for WikiProject Open access; not much active engagement
- project has had some big successes and exemplary projects
- no need to fork communities; people interested in one aspect of "open" are likely to support others
- WikiProject Open Access already has WikiProject templates on every kind of article on "open", not just open access articles
continue as part of School of Open?
A consensus around a preferred name for the group (still subject to review in followup calls) (no objections, and a fair amount of buy-in, as of Oct. 9)
A draft shared vision for the group: what will it aim to accomplish, and how will we keep track?
A (published!) basic WikiProject page to start collecting these ideas (getting there! you're looking at it!)
A basic outreach plan: a few people commit to blog/tweet/otherwise promote upcoming meetings, etc.
…

Agenda: possible specifics to discuss

How to engage with related groups (e.g. WikiProject Open Access) - in partnership or in combination?
Continued collaboration with, part of School of Open
Navigation templates, categories, etc. -- structure (see "Outline of open education" or existing navboxes profiled at bottom of WikiProject Open Access for instance)
Communications: a monthly newsletter? Leverage related concepts like the OA File of the Day? A monthly "Edit Friday" or webinar to share our work with one another? Open Access mailing list:https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/openaccess
Future of the Communicate OER content/WIKISOO class, and how to welcome and train new Wikipedians
Badges
Semi-formal roles? Advisory board?
Open Access track at Wikimania 2014: how to engage? (see: wm2014:Outreach/Open Access Advocates ) - one plan - get open access article in English to GA before spring 2014
"signaling open access" project (see: WP:WikiProject Open Access/Signalling OA-ness)
Cochrane Collaboration project at WP:COCHRANE
article in BMJ (?) - we need Wikipedia health numbers (like readership statistics?)
partnership with Open Society Foundation - possible sponsor of Wikimania OA track
partnership with Open Knowledge Foundation - managing Wikimania OA track
Collaboration of the Week (or month)
What page design for a WikiProject makes it the most inviting and useful?
"Open Policy" -- what is it? Creative Commons defines it one way, the UK government another. How to get at this in Wikipedia coverage?