Wikimania 2024: Have a Katowice Day
Wikipedia editors gathered in Poland last week to discuss generative AI, generational succession, the war in Ukraine, and Japanese TV
The annual Wikimania conference took place last week in Katowice, Poland. This marked the 18th gathering since its 2005 debut in Frankfurt and the second since COVID-19 forced cancellation in 2020. It also marked The Wikipedian’s seventh attendance since 2012 in Washington, D.C., and first since the pandemic.
Katowice wasn’t the original location—Krakow was announced last year. When the chosen venue fell through, organizers optimized for the conference center over the city. In fact, the meeting space was very nice. And the nearby Spodek, a UFO-shaped arena, was memorable. But the rest of Poland’s 10th largest city, not so much. To quote Wikivoyage: “It’s not scenic, but has a rich industrial heritage.”
This year’s Wikimania had much in common with previous gatherings: bringing together Wikimedians from around the world to consider weighty topics, show off pet projects, and spend time with like-minded nerds. With over 2,300 participants onsite and online, it was among the largest in its history.
But it also differed in some ways. The Russian invasion of Ukraine cast a shadow, both in content and proximity. Generative AI was a hot topic, albeit with a less polarized, more practical perspective than a year ago. And with Wikipedia’s 25th anniversary just around the corner, this Wikimania also contemplated matters of generational succession and the community’s future.
Talkin’ ‘bout my generation
The future of Wikimedia was the theme of a “fireside chat” with Wikimedia Foundation (WMF) executives Maryana Iskander (CEO), Lisa Seitz-Gruwell (Chief Advancement Officer), and Selena Deckelmann (Chief Product & Tech Officer). Specifically: forestalling technological obsolescence, attracting young people to the movement, and managing the WMF–community relationship.
The latter was a topic Iskander had briefly addressed at the opening ceremony the day before, where some were disappointed by brief remarks she made seeming to gloss over disagreements about the long-gestating Movement Strategy initiative. Initially envisioned as a collective future plan, it has devolved into something more like a power-sharing agreement between the WMF and Wikimedia community. For years, the WMF let volunteers shoulder most of the work, only to reject the proffered draft during the community’s ratification vote last month. [Update, 8/19: The draft was rejected by WMF trustees, not the executive team or staff.]
Generative AI was addressed as a matter for potential future concern. Seitz-Gruwell raised the question about whether internet users might accept AI chatbot answers as a suitable replacement for Google searches, which send Wikipedia a majority of its traffic. Deckelmann emphasized the importance of Wikipedia as a trusted destination and counterpoint to low-quality web content—which apparently has been christened “slop”, i.e., the AI equivalent of spam.
The executives also touched on the aging of Wikipedia’s original contributor base and the challenge of engaging younger generations, as did at least three other sessions. Iskander has placed new emphasis on a phrase from the WMF mission statement, “in perpetuity”, viz., keeping Wikimedia available for all, free in all senses, forever and ever. The phrase is described as a “mandate” on a new page on the Movement Strategy project about establishing “multi-generational pillars”, and it was all but an official catch phrase throughout the week.
Make no mistake, Wikipedia continues to attract new (and young) participants, but it’s almost a quarter century old and no one’s taking anything for granted. Case in point: this year’s Wikimedian of the Year, announced onstage by Jimmy Wales like every other year, is Hannah Clover, a Canadian Zoomer who is ex-Jehovah’s Witness, proudly ace, and prefers to edit on her smartphone.
Life during wartime
The conference’s most sobering presentation was given by journalist Anton Protsiuk, updating attendees on the status of his fellow Ukrainian Wikimedians, as he did at the war’s start in 2022. He described power outages, unemployment, and displacement, and paid tribute to five contributors who had lost their lives. Protsiuk joined via Zoom, explaining that as a military-aged male, he was not allowed to travel outside the country. Wikipedia’s well-known gender gap also complicates their work, since it’s mostly men who contribute, and entirely men who are called to serve. Even so, Protsiuk said some conscripts still find time to contribute, a way to maintain their sanity amid the chaos. (Video, Slides)
Russia’s fracturing community
On the other side of the trenches, things are screwier. As recounted by WMF trustee Dr. Victoria Doronina, Putin’s years-long persecution of the Russian Wikipedia (see: The Top 10 Wikipedia Stories of 2023 (Part 2) has partitioned the Russian wiki-encyclopedia scene. There are now multiple competing sites, including: Russian Wikipedia, the oldest and most prominent; Runiversalis, run by a former KGB agent and openly ideological; and Ruwiki, also pro-Putin and in fact launched only last year by the former head of Wikimedia Russia—who was globally banned from Wikimedia projects but makes up for it with a nice Kremlin salary and staff working in posh Moscow offices. The Russian Wikipedia remains the most popular, though editing and viewer activity has declined. (Video, Slides)
Others receiving votes
In an opening ceremony that ran shorter than those at the Paris Olympics but longer than most Marvel movies, the organizers failed to learn from the mistakes of Kendall “L to the OG” Roy and OK’d an awkward white guy rap.
Did you know Japanese comedy TV show hosts enjoy disruptively editing Wikipedia to amuse themselves and their audiences? Dr. Kitamura Sae, an English professor at Musashi University, called out several miscreants including the hosts of a variety show, Gokuraku Tombo KAKERUTV, who drew criticism for “Providing silly and sexy photos to Wikipedia!” Japanese Wikipedians reverted their changes quickly and the show apologized. But at least one photo made its way to the English Wikipedia. (Video, Slides)
An innovative effort that’s come on the scene just this year is WikiPortraits Studio. Attempting to solve Wikipedia’s lack of quality photos—particularly headshots of the Notable—a group of volunteers including Andrew Lih and Jennifer 8. Lee brought a pop-up photo studio to Sundance, SXSW, Cannes, and other events drawing boldface (or “blue-linked” in Wiki parlance) names to take quality photos for Wikimedia projects. (Video, Slides)
“Link rot” used to be a big problem on Wikipedia: you’d click on a link in the References section, only to dead end at a 404 page. What you probably haven’t noticed is that these dead links have since been resurrected via the Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine and a clever program called IAbot. Over the last 10 years, they’ve saved more than 20 million links. (Video, Slides)
If you’ve seen a bar chart or line graph on Wikipedia, it was probably created in Graphs, an extension that was disabled following the discovery of an unfixable security vulnerability more than a year ago. Now comes Charts, which aims to do the same thing but without exposing users to being hacked. It should be available by the end of the year. (Video, Slides)
Shaun Spalding, WMF’s lead counsel, appeared via recording to deliver an understated but compelling presentation: “Understanding and assisting with undisclosed paid editing (UPE) enforcement”. He detailed his office’s efforts to roll up and shut down networks of scammers and “black hat” consultants, usually based overseas, sometimes offering real services violating Wikipedia’s rules and sometimes just outright stealing from unwitting customers. Alas, it is not online, so you’ll have to take The Wikipedian’s word for it.
All in all, another successful Wikimania. The Wikimedia movement is in better shape than it thinks it is. Its introspection is a strength, more self-reflective than self-critical. Everyone agrees on the project goals, and differ only slightly in how to get there. No meteor is headed its way. Next year, the conference will head to Nairobi, followed by Paris—where these conversations will continue.
The quote about the rich industrial heritage was hilarious.
I like how AI was discussed in a level-headed manner without all the hype.
I couldn't finish the rap, but what a legend for doing that in English in front of a crowd.
And bless the way back machine!