| MediaWiki Users and Developers Conference Fall 2025 | |
|---|---|
| Impulse talk: NoGLAMorɚ | |
| Talk details | |
| Description: | More diverse users and their experiences, needs and inputs need to start showing up in the products and services of Wikimedia and MediaWiki/Wikibase developers/hosts. Replyicating what were historic needs of traditional Wikipedians has shown to be not enough to support new users, prosumers of webs and services, as well as to drive frontend innovation and enabling more aspirations in the (use of) federation features. |
| Speaker(s): | Z. Blace |
| Type: | Lightning talk |
| Audience: | Everyone |
| Length: | 5 minutes |
| Video: | not available |
| Keywords: | Diversity, Newbies, Outreach, community, federation |
| Give feedback | |
As an early adopter and wiki enthusiast (from C2.com and desk.org wikis, later user of TWiki, TikiWiki and other varians), mentor and developer-supporter of Croatian (Mi2.hr) wiki engine TamTam (fork of MoinMoin, targeting graphics+media rich needs) my re-enetering of MediaWiki/Wikibase was as promoter, medntor and educator, later GLAM+.ORG consultant for Wikimedia+ MediaWiki/Wikibase. In the process of onboarding cultural and art organizations, institutions and individuals to wiki platforms, I collected experience and methodology to navigate less obvious paths and especially when development and deployment did not become routine. Adoption issues of Wikimedia services, organizational and tech infrastructure, MediaWiki and Wikibase among under-represented groups (focus on queer and migrant groups in Croatia, Germany, Belgium and sporadically elsewhere) should be relevant to developers and product owners more than ever as MediaWiki & Wikibase are to tackle on issues of scaling sustainability, diversity and federation. Through experience work with independent organizations (like Clubture.org data/media sharing to Wikimedia and migration of ABCdnk.hr to self hosted MediaWiki and Wikibase.Cloud) made me think that both governance and governmentality of systems needs to diversify and software+services developed need to empower less technically skilled content contributors. This goes beyond simplistic and aspirational general idea of openness and transparency of FLOSS, towards more accessibility and just(ice) focused future of UI/UX, methods and algorithmic processes are no longer enabling toxic micro-supressions and/or passive-agressive behaviour in participatory environment of digital (federated?) commons.
