Wikipedia:Open letters

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From time to time, the Wikipedia community will write open letters on matters pertinent to Wikipedia or the Wikimedia Foundation. These open letters usually function as a coordinated response from the community to the issues at hand. In the past, these letters have been written by the English Wikipedia community, or the entire community. In the past, these letters have been addressed to the Wikimedia Foundation, or to government institutions.

List of open letters written
Date Letter Summary Location No. of signatures[a]
August 19, 2014 Letter to Wikimedia Foundation: Superprotect and Media Viewer In August 2014, Wikimedia Foundation introduced the 'superprotect' user right for its staff which would supercede local administrator's user rights. The Wikimedia community responded with an open letter urging the removal of the newly created user right along with allowing projects to opt-in on the usage Wikipedia:Media Viewer by consensus.

Outcomes:

  1. The superprotect userrights was removed by November 2015.
  2. Media Viewer was further improved after a series of consultations with the foundation.
 Meta Wiki 897 signatures:
  • 817 editors
  • 80 from change.org

At 21:59, 09 September 2014 (UTC).

June 23, 2015 Open letter to the members of the European Parliament on preserving the freedom of panorama In 2015, a proposed legislation was introduced in the European Parliament that would restrict freedom of panorama in Europe. A coordinated campaign across multiple projects ensued to convince the parliament to amend the proposed legislation. See: Wikipedia:Freedom of Panorama 2015, c:Freedom of Panorama in Europe in 2015, m:Freedom of Panorama in Europe in 2015.

Outcome:

  1. The proposed legislation was amended, allowing the continued existence of the freedom of panorama in Europe
 Commons,

English Wikipedia German Wikipedia

4,235 signatures

At 15:14, 30 June 2015 (UTC).

June 23, 2020 Community open letter on renaming We ask the Wikimedia Foundation to pause or stop its current movement renaming activities, due to persistent shortcomings in the current rebranding process. Future work should be restarted only in a way that ensures equitable decision-making.

Outcome:

  1. Renaming activities suspended.
 Meta Wiki 1,098 signatures:
  • 73 affiliates;
  • 5 non-recognised affiliates;[b]
  • 1015 editors/contributors

At 01:51, 18 September 2024 (UTC).

July 22, 2022 Open letter from English Wikipedia New Page Reviewers This is a call from 444 volunteer editors and administrators of the English Wikipedia asking the Wikimedia Foundation's CEO, senior staff, and the Board of Trustees, to address attention to urgently required software bugs and requests for the needs for the New Page Review system.

Outcome:

  1. The foundation took on the work to develop the relevant software.
 English Wikipedia 444 signatures

At 5:41, 27 September 2022 (UTC).

November 7, 2024 2024 open letter to the Wikimedia Foundation In light of an ongoing legal case in India, we call upon the Foundation to prioritize the safety and well being of volunteers, even if it comes with a risk of legal action against the Foundation, or other costs. Any other action risks having a chilling effect on the work of volunteers across the project, and only makes it more likely that such pressure will be exerted in future.

Outcome: pending

English Wikipedia 835 signatures

At 21:50, 13 November 2024 (UTC).


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