【诚实守信】付静：十几年如一日 坚持为百姓造良心药
The Sister Projects Task Force (SiPTaF) sits under the Community Affairs Committee of the Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees. The Task Force is a group of community members and Foundation trustees working together to build a strategy to support the life cycle of non-Wikipedia projects across the movement.
The Community Affairs Committee charter calls on addressing “the review of the existing sister projects and new sister site applications, including creating a formalized procedure, from application to approval/disapproval” as one of the responsibilities of the Committee. The Sister Projects Task Force works towards this responsibility by building clear processes and criteria around sister projects and their development.
Sister Projects Task Force seeks Volunteer Advisory Members
[edit]SiPTaF seeks 3-6 Volunteer Advisory Members representing different projects and communities to serve on the Task Force.
How to apply
[edit]To submit your candidacy, please start a new section on this talk page about, including:
- the top 3 reasons you would like to join the project.
- your experience with sister projects (policy changes, being an administrator or another type of editor with extended rights (functionary) there etc.)
- the languages you are fluent in (English is the working language of the Task Force).
- your experience in project management and/or evaluation, if you have any.
- your experience working on getting a new sister project off the ground (successfully or not).
The Community Affairs Committee is interested in having as diverse a group as possible but would like to balance the transparency and safety of our candidates. Please send the information from which country/region you are coming to trustee Victoria Doronina (vdoronina
wikimedia.org) if you are not comfortable sharing it on the talk page. Please see how regions are divided.
Please note: you do not need to disclose your real name publicly for this work. However, if you are selected, you will need to send a copy of an identification document privately to the Wikimedia Foundation and you may be asked to sign a standard non-disclosure agreement (NDA) if your work requires you to handle sensitive information.
Selection criteria
[edit]The following criteria are flexible; you do not need to meet every point to be a successful applicant.
- 1+ years of experience as a functionary (user with extended rights, for example, administrator) on a sister project (being one currently would be a bonus) and/or 1+ years of prior project management and/or evaluation experience.
- General understanding of the movement, and Wikimedia projects, and Wikimedia 2030 Movement Strategy Recommendations.
- Demonstrated track record of involvement with the Wikimedia movement outside one's affiliate or project community would be a bonus.
- Required: working level of spoken English, as this is the business language for the Board and its committees.
Time commitment
[edit]Advisors need to commit an estimated 2-3 hours per week to attend monthly and other ad-hoc online meetings, prepare or review required materials, and interact with the Taskforce, staff and/or board committee as required. Advisors will be asked to reflect on more than the processes of approving or closing the Wikimedia projects, but also on determining if a sister project is successful.
Selection timeline
[edit]- Candidates submit their interest and the above information no later than May 15, 2023.
- SiPTaF will interview top candidates by 30 May, 2023.
- SiPTaF will select the candidates by 15 June, 2023.
- Selected candidates to join the Task Force by June 30, 2023 and attend the next Task Force meeting.
Result
[edit]SJ, Kasyap, Noe, Billinghurst, and Galahad were appointed as Volunteer Advisory Members in July 2023. --Victoria (talk) 09:05, 7 September 2023 (UTC)
Wikimania 2023 session "Sister Projects: past, present and the glorious future"
[edit]The workshop was organised and run by the Sister Projects Taskforce members + the Chair of Community Affairs Committee Shani Evenstein Sigalov.
The link to the Transcript and notes. --Victoria (talk) 09:05, 7 September 2023 (UTC)
2023
[edit]The Sister Project Taskforce currently consists of 6 Trustees (Natalia Timkiv, Esra'a Al Shafei, Mike Peel, Rosie Stephenson-Goodknight, Lorenzo Llosa and Victoria Doronina) as well as five volunteers selected after an open call – Bilinghurst, Sj, Noe, Kasyap, Galahad.
The Sister Project Taskforce work in 2023:
The Taskforce had nine meetings of the Taskforce in 2023, including a hybrid – in Singapore, where we ran a workshop on Sister Projects during the Wikimania 2023. Rosie and Lorenzo had run a similar workshop in Toronto during the Conference North America 2023. The results of the workshops were incorporated into the Taskforce group.
As a result of our work, we have drafted documents pertinent to the Sister project's lifecycle. In 2024, we will present these documents to the Community Affairs Committee of the Board of Trustees.
2024
[edit]- We have presented the Draft Procedure for the Siblings Project Lifecycle to the Community Affairs Committee, which approved the public consultation commencing on 13th May 2024.
- As a result of the public consultation, a revised procedure was developed.
- The Community Affairs Committee approved the revised procedure.
- The Community Affairs Committee approved two tests to implement the procedure—one to consider opening a Sister Project and one to consider closing it.
- SPTF considered the case of the Wikispore and Wikinews correspondingly and presented them to the Community Affairs Committee.
- We will run public consultations about these projects in 2025.
- We are in the process of closing the historical applications up to 2023, starting with the "Stale proposals".
- A former trustee, Rosie and a staff member Sai Suman Cherukuwa were appointed Volunteer Advisory Members.
2025
[edit]We are preparing for the public consultation about Wikispore and Wikinews.
June 2025
[edit]The Community Affairs Committee (CAC) of the Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees assigned the Sister Projects Task Force (SPTF) to update and implement a procedure for assessing the lifecycle of Sister Projects – wiki projects supported by Wikimedia Foundation (WMF).
A vision of relevant, accessible, and impactful free knowledge has always guided the Wikimedia Movement. As the ecosystem of Wikimedia projects continues to evolve, it is essential that we periodically review existing projects to ensure they remain aligned with our goals and community capacity.
Despite their noble intent, some projects may no longer effectively serve their original purpose. Reviewing such projects is not about giving up – it's about responsible stewardship of shared resources. Volunteer time, staff support, infrastructure, and community attention are finite, and the non-technical costs tend to grow significantly as our ecosystem has entered a different age of the internet than the one we were founded in. Supporting inactive projects or projects that didn't meet our ambitions can unintentionally divert these resources from areas with more potential impact.
Moreover, maintaining projects that no longer reflect the quality and reliability of the Wikimedia name stands for, involves a reputational risk. An abandoned or less reliable project affects trust in the Wikimedia movement.
Lastly, failing to sunset or reimagine projects that are no longer working can make it much harder to start new ones. When the community feels bound to every past decision – no matter how outdated – we risk stagnation. A healthy ecosystem must allow for evolution, adaptation, and, when necessary, letting go. If we create the expectation that every project must exist indefinitely, we limit our ability to experiment and innovate.
Because of this, SPTF reviewed two requests concerning the lifecycle of the Sister Projects to work through and demonstrate the review process. We chose Wikispore as a case study for a possible new Sister Project opening and Wikinews as a case study for a review of an existing project. Preliminary findings were discussed with the CAC, and a community consultation on both proposals was recommended.
- We welcome your opinion on: