Wikipedia:Wikipedia Signpost/2013-08-21/From the editor

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From the editor

Call for contributors

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By The ed17
... some assembly required

Contributing to the Signpost can be one of the most rewarding things an editor can do. The genre is refreshingly different from that of Wikipedia articles, and can allow writers to use a different range of skills. Our circulation is up to 2000 for some stories, and reaches far beyond the English Wikipedia, speaking to Wikimedians from many native languages and WMF projects. Page view counts show that readers still visit some pages up to months after publication. The need for an independent, volunteer-run Signpost continues to grow, given the increasing complexity and financial expenditures of the global Wikimedia movement.

Writing for the Signpost does require commitment. Although we've all become used to a weekly Signpost delivered on our talk pages, the number of contributors has decreased, and this week's and last week's editions came out very late. With this in mind, combined with the limited availability of our current editors—especially during the month of September—the Signpost is putting out a call for editors who are interested in contributing to:

  • "News and notes": in brief section
  • "In the media": support
  • "Discussion report": regular and support
  • "Featured content": regular and support
  • "Arbitration report": support
  • "Technology report": support

Editors normally contribute to their section on a regular basis or arrange weekly rotations depending on their circumstances. People willing to do only parts each week, such as adding a few "in brief" notes to "News and notes", are certainly welcome as well.

I look forward to hearing from interested editors, either on my talk page or through email.

— The ed17, Signpost editor-in-chief

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  • What about just releasing the Signpost whenever it is ready? So instead of holding onto a weekly release, with often a delay, release an edition about one to two weeks after the previous one. It's a bit silly to release the 21 August edition on 26 August (i.e. when the next one is supposed to be two days later). Just a thought... SPQRobin (talk) 21:05, 26 August 2013 (UTC)[reply]
  • Thanks for your idea. I suggested fortnightly editions way back in 2010, I think, and was howled down. I've since roundly accepted the weekly model, which is very important to the whole identity and function of this news outlet. The burden does fall on just a few shoulders, and when we have RL squeezes, as right now, it's a difficult job to get it done. The publish-when-ready model would sacrifice a huge amount, and we'd become more like the German WP's Kurier, which is a very different beast. The titular date of publication has never in my experience been the actual date of publication. Perhaps treat it as "week of [date]". Tony (talk) 02:29, 27 August 2013 (UTC)[reply]
  • When I noticed the the signpost was coming later than usual, I did consider volunteering time in this manner. However, after minutes of looking, I was not able to locate a centralized discussion area, the draft space for the post, or any real information of what needs to be done or how to get involved. Is this stuff deliberately hidden, non existent, or was I just not able to find it? Perhaps a how-to guide to contributing should be popularized for the next edition? I saw the words Google Docs floating around, why would we use this to do drafts rather than the wiki? I could not understand. --NickPenguin(contribs) 03:39, 27 August 2013 (UTC)[reply]
@Nick, ditto. XOttawahitech (talk) 19:49, 29 August 2013 (UTC)[reply]
@User:NickPenguin, User:Ottawahitech: if either (or both!) of you would like to contribute, I'd be more than happy to talk you through our process, which can get rather complicated. :-) Ed [talk] [majestic titan] 20:46, 29 August 2013 (UTC)[reply]
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