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Community view

Community open letter on renaming

This open letter was originally published on June 23 on Meta at Community open letter on renaming. As of June 28 it has been signed by 34 Wikimedia affiliates and 350 individual Wikimedians. See this interview with some of the open letter's signers. -S

Open letter on renaming

Volunteers have built up the good name of Wikipedia as an independent, community-driven resource for 20 years. The Wikimedia movement projects, including Wikipedia, thrive on decentralization and consensus. Clear distinctions among the Wikimedia Foundation, affiliates, and individual contributors are essential. Any change that affects this balance demands the informed consent and collaboration of the communities. Therefore, it is of great concern to see "Wikipedia" presented for the name of the organization and movement despite widespread community dissatisfaction.

We, the undersigned, request an immediate pause to renaming activities by the Wikimedia Foundation, due to process shortcomings of the 2030 Movement Brand Project.

  • Assessment of risks during project planning and concept development:[1]
    • High cost for undemonstrated benefit. Renaming constitutes a disruptive change, and does not show a clear link to the promised outcomes.[2] Wikimedia affiliates are concerned about the hazards of using “Wikipedia” outside of a project context and have not found adequate assurances and support.[3]
    • High risks to community identity. These have been overlooked in evaluating naming options. In 2015, the Wikimedia Foundation noted that "Wikimedia is a strongly-held community identity. Name changes have implications for community cohesion and participation."[4] However, it failed to carry these concerns through the process and the surveys.
  • Respect and inclusion of Wikimedia communities:
    • Miscommunication and confusion. Unclear assumptions by the Wikimedia Foundation have led to a lack of confidence in the brand process.[5][6][7]
    • Problematic evaluation and summary of feedback. The choice of metrics, particularly in the August 2019 community review, have put the premise and legitimacy of the process into question.[8][9][10][11]
    • Neglecting the views of Wikimedia communities. Formal and informal channels, including Requests for Comments[12] and straw polls,[13][14] indicated clear problems with the process. The current brand survey focuses on the very name for the Wikimedia Foundation that was overwhelmingly opposed in these community consultations.

Therefore, we ask the Board of Trustees and the Wikimedia Foundation to pause or stop renaming activities.

Every major activity in the Wikimedia movement has been delayed or postponed this year – the global Wikimania conference, Wikimedia Foundation board elections, Wikimedia Summit and Strategy working groups. It is appropriate to treat renaming with the same level of care and concern. Any future work should be restarted only in a way that supports equitable decision-making among all stakeholders.[15]

References

  1. ^ 2030 movement brand project - timeline
  2. ^ WMF, Leading with Wikimedia proposal 2019-02 and Wolff Olins research
  3. ^ Comments on the rebranding strategy, from the chairs of five Wikimedia Affiliates
  4. ^ Slides: November 2015 documents presented to the Board from the branding team, (2015-11). In a video call with affiliates on 2020-06-20, Zack McCune (WMF Director of Brand) concurred that these criteria were absent and should be somehow incorporated into the proceedings.
  5. ^ Requests for comment - Should the Foundation call itself Wikipedia - "I wanted to add a comment here to apologize for the metrics presented in the 2030 research and planning community review results" - Heather Walls, (WMF Chief Creative Officer) (2020-02-17)
  6. ^ 2030 movement brand project - Executive statement - "I take responsibility that we have not managed to bring all of you along on this journey in the way we hoped and intended, or clearly communicated the Foundation’s intentions. I deeply regret causing stress and tension that have increased rifts between the Foundation and many community members." - Heather Walls (2020-06-18)
  7. ^ Board Statement on Branding (2020-06-22) from acting board chair Natalia Tymkiv - "I am truly sorry for all the frustration this whole situation has caused to volunteers, who have engaged in discussions expressing their concerns, and to the staff, who have been working and not really sure if that is really the direction the Board is prepared to seriously consider, or if it is just an exercise on our part."
  8. ^ Flawed indicator for ‘informed people’, 2019-02 - "The community response criteria proposes dividing by the number of people who have been informed. That appears to be a problem. I see no way you can determine how many people have been informed via mailing list or informed via VillagePump postings, unless someone has psychic powers."
  9. ^ Brands - Community Review # Informed people "0.6% of informed oppose (57 users oppose of ~9,000 reached)" (2019-09-06)
  10. ^ Brands - Community Review - Results # Response KPIs - adjusted to "40% of community members oppose"
  11. ^ Brands - Community Review - Results # The metrics used here are troubling- "The metrics used in this consultation were meant to gauge response not to offer a score for the proposal or stand in for a vote of any kind. This was because the proposal was conceptual not explicit." Zack McCune
  12. ^ RfC: Should the Foundation call itself Wikipedia As of 2020-06-22: 41 in support and 468 against for the question “Is it acceptable for the Foundation to use the name Wikipedia to refer to itself?”
  13. ^ Brands - Community feedback and straw poll
  14. ^ Talk: Brands - Community Review - Brainstorm
  15. ^ 2030 Strategy recommendations: ensure equity in decision making and coordinating across stakeholders