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Growth News #34
[rediger kilde]
A quarterly update from the Growth team on our work to improve the new editor experience.
Mentoring new editors
[rediger kilde]In February, Mentorship was successfully rolled out to 100% of newcomers on English Wikipedia. Following this milestone, we collaborated with Spanish Wikipedia to expand Mentorship coverage to 70% of new accounts, with plans to reach 85% soon unless concerns are raised by mentors. (T394867)
“Add a Link” Task – Iteration and Experimentation
[rediger kilde]Our efforts to improve and scale the “Add a Link” structured task continued across multiple fronts:
- Community Feedback & Model Improvements: We’ve responded to community concerns with targeted changes:
- Restricting access to newer accounts (T393688)
- Some links types were removed to align with recommendations written in the English Wikipedia Manual of Style (T390683)
- Allowing communities to limit “Add a Link” to newcomers (T393771)
- The model used to suggest the links was improved to ease its training (T388258)
- English Wikipedia rollout and A/B test: We increased the rollout to 20% of newcomers, with analysis underway. Preliminary data suggests this feature makes new account holders more likely to complete an unreverted edit. (T386029, T382603)
- Surfacing Structured Tasks: An experiment where we show “add a link” suggestions to newly registered users while they are reading an article is running on pilot wikis (French, Persian, Indonesian, Portuguese, Egyptian Arabic). Initial results are under analysis. (T386029)
Newcomer Engagement Features
[rediger kilde]- “Get Started” notification: Engineering is in progress for a new notification (Echo/email) to encourage editing among newcomers with zero edits. Early research shows this type of nudge is effective. (T392256)
- Confirmation email: We are exploring ways to simplify and improve the initial account confirmation email newly registered users receive. (T215665)
Community Configuration Enhancements
[rediger kilde]Communities can now manage which namespaces are eligible for Event Registration via Community Configuration. (T385341)
Annual Planning
[rediger kilde]The Wikimedia Foundation’s 2025–2026 Annual Plan is taking shape. The Growth and Editing teams will focus on the Contributor Experiences (WE1) objective, with a focus on increasing constructive edits by editors with fewer than 100 cumulative contributions.
Get Involved
[rediger kilde]We value your insights and ideas! If you would like to participate in a discussion, share feedback, or pilot new features, please reach out on the relevant Phabricator tasks or at our talk page, in any language.
Growth team's newsletter prepared by the Growth team and posted by bot • Give feedback • Subscribe or unsubscribe.
17. jun. 2025 kl. 20:51 (CEST)
Tech News: 2025-26
[rediger kilde]Latest tech news from the Wikimedia technical community. Please tell other users about these changes. Not all changes will affect you. Translations are available.
Weekly highlight
- This week, the Moderator Tools and Machine Learning teams will continue the rollout of a new filter to Recent Changes, releasing it to the third and last batch of Wikipedias. This filter utilizes the Revert Risk model, which was created by the Research team, to highlight edits that are likely to be reverted and help Recent Changes patrollers identify potentially problematic contributions. The feature will be rolled out to the following Wikipedias: Azerbaijani Wikipedia, Latin Wikipedia, Macedonian Wikipedia, Malayalam Wikipedia, Marathi Wikipedia, Norwegian Nynorsk Wikipedia, Punjabi Wikipedia, Swahili Wikipedia, Telugu Wikipedia, Tagalog Wikipedia. The rollout will continue in the coming weeks to include the rest of the Wikipedias in this project. [1]
Updates for editors
- Last week, temporary accounts were rolled out on Czech, Korean, and Turkish Wikipedias. This and next week, deployments on larger Wikipedias will follow. Share your thoughts about the project. [2]
- Later this week, the Editing team will release Multi Check to all Wikipedias (except English Wikipedia). This feature shows multiple Reference checks within the editing experience. This encourages users to add citations when they add multiple new paragraphs to a Wikipedia article. This feature was previously available as an A/B test. The test shows that users who are shown multiple checks are 1.3 times more likely to add a reference to their edit, and their edit is less likely to be reverted (-34.7%). [3]
- A few pages need to be renamed due to software updates and to match more recent Unicode standards. All of these changes are related to title-casing changes. Approximately 71 pages and 3 files will be renamed, across 15 wikis; the complete list is in the task. The developers will rename these pages next week, and they will fix redirects and embedded file links a few minutes later via a system settings update.
View all 24 community-submitted tasks that were resolved last week. For example, a bug was fixed that had caused pages to scroll upwards when text near the top was selected. [4]
Updates for technical contributors
- Editors can now use Lua modules to filter and transform tabular data for use with Extension:Chart. This can be used for things like selecting a subset of rows or columns from the source data, converting between units, statistical processing, and many other useful transformations. Information on how to use transforms is available. [5]
- The
all_linksvariable in AbuseFilter is now renamed tonew_linksfor consistency with other variables. Old usages will still continue to work. [6] - Detailed code updates later this week: MediaWiki
In depth
- The latest quarterly Growth newsletter is available. It includes: the recent updates for the "Add a Link" Task, two new Newcomer Engagement Features, and updates to Community Configuration.
Tech news prepared by Tech News writers and posted by bot • Contribute • Translate • Get help • Give feedback • Subscribe or unsubscribe.
MediaWiki message delivery 24. jun. 2025 kl. 01:20 (CEST)
Proposal to enable the "Contribute" entry point in Norwegian Wikipedia
[rediger kilde]Hallo Norwegian Wikipedians,
Apologies as this message is not in your language. Hjelp til med å oversette til ditt språk.
The WMF Language and Product Localization team proposes to enable an entry point called "Contribute" menu in your Wikipedia. The "Contribute" menu is a central place where editors can discover and access all contribution tools available in your Wikipedia.
Having this entry point is inspired by collaborative efforts with product teams at the Wikimedia Foundation, grounded in our research on Edit discovery. This research validated the idea of a dedicated entry point, revealing it as a consistent pathway for contributors to find ways to contribute content.
Enabling this entry point will help new contributors quickly discover the tools available to them, allowing them to start using the tools right away. This proposed enablement will include support for a small set of contribution tools, but the menu is designed to be extensible and more tools will be added over time. Below is important information about the "Contribute" menu.
Who Can Access It?
Once enabled, newcomers will automatically have access to this entry point by logging into their accounts. They can find the "Contribute" tab in the User drop-down menu, which will take them to another menu featuring a self-guided tab that outlines how they can contribute content, as shown in the image below.
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What else can be accessed from the "Contribute" Menu?
In addition to the self-guided tabs that newcomers can click on to explore contribution tools, the menu will also include an option to "View contributions", allowing newcomers to see a list of their contributions so far.
Will this replace the "Contributions" tab for experienced contributors?
No, the "Contribute" tab on the User drop-down menu will not replace your existing "Contributions" tab. Experienced contributors will not see the "Contribute" tab in their User drop-down menu unless they choose to access it manually through Special:Contribute.
Where else is this menu enabled?
This entry point is currently available on over 245 Wikipedias. We have received valuable feedback from contributors to some of these Wikipedias, which has helped us enhance their discoverability. One key improvement has been to make the entry point optional for experienced contributors who still prefer the default "Contributions" tab.
Will new contributors on desktop and mobile devices have access to the Contribute menu?
The "Contribute" menu will only be available to mobile users accessing Wikipedia through a browser at this initial stage. We will limit its exposure to mobile browser users only for now.
Will this change the configuration of tools in our Wikipedia?
The configuration of tools accessible through the "Contribute" menu will remain unchanged. For instance, if the Content Translation tool is restricted to specific users in your Wikipedia, it will still be inaccessible to newcomers even if they click it from the "Contribute" menu.
Why can't I see all the available tools in the "Contribute" menu in the Wikipedias where it is currently enabled?
As time goes on, other tools will become available in the "Contribute", both new and old ones.
When Will It Be Enabled in Our Wiki?
If there are no objections from your Wikipedia by July 18, 2025, we plan to deploy the "Contribute" entry point.
We welcome your feedback and questions regarding this proposal to enable the "Contribute" menu on Norwegian Wikipedia. We look forward to your response. Thank you!
UOzurumba (WMF) (diskusjon) 24. jun. 2025 kl. 05:12 (CEST) On behalf of the Language and Product Localization team.
- Sikkert veldig bra. Jeg har bare ett spørsmål: Hva skal vi med norsk her? Kan vi ikke like godt legge ned hele Wikipedia på bokmål? Når ikke en gang vår egen støtteorganisasjon, med over 700 ansatte, klarer å poste en melding her på norsk, så forstår man at løpet er kjørt. Ulflarsen (diskusjon) 26. jun. 2025 kl. 22:35 (CEST)
Sister Projects Task Force reviews Wikispore and Wikinews
[rediger kilde]Dear Wikimedia Community,
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 crucial that we periodically review existing projects to ensure they still align 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.
Wikispore
[rediger kilde]The application to consider Wikispore was submitted in 2019. SPTF decided to review this request in more depth because rather than being concentrated on a specific topic, as most of the proposals for the new Sister Projects are, Wikispore has the potential to nurture multiple start-up Sister Projects.
After careful consideration, the SPTF has decided not to recommend Wikispore as a Wikimedia Sister Project. Considering the current activity level, the current arrangement allows better flexibility and experimentation while WMF provides core infrastructural support.
We acknowledge the initiative's potential and seek community input on what would constitute a sufficient level of activity and engagement to reconsider its status in the future.
As part of the process, we shared the decision with the Wikispore community and invited one of its leaders, Pharos, to an SPTF meeting.
Currently, we especially invite feedback on measurable criteria indicating the project's readiness, such as contributor numbers, content volume, and sustained community support. This would clarify the criteria sufficient for opening a new Sister Project, including possible future Wikispore re-application. However, the numbers will always be a guide because any number can be gamed.
Wikinews
[rediger kilde]We chose to review Wikinews among existing Sister Projects because it is the one for which we have observed the highest level of concern in multiple ways.
Since the SPTF was convened in 2023, its members have asked for the community's opinions during conferences and community calls about Sister Projects that did not fulfil their promise in the Wikimedia movement.[1][2][3] Wikinews was the leading candidate for an evaluation because people from multiple language communities proposed it. Additionally, by most measures, it is the least active Sister Project, with the greatest drop in activity over the years.
While the Language Committee routinely opens and closes language versions of the Sister Projects in small languages, there has never been a valid proposal to close Wikipedia in major languages or any project in English. This is not true for Wikinews, where there was a proposal to close English Wikinews, which gained some traction but did not result in any action[4][5], see section 5 as well as a draft proposal to close all languages of Wikinews[6].
Initial metrics compiled by WMF staff also support the community's concerns about Wikinews.
Based on this report, SPTF recommends a community reevaluation of Wikinews. We conclude that its current structure and activity levels are the lowest among the existing sister projects. SPTF also recommends pausing the opening of new language editions while the consultation runs.
SPTF brings this analysis to a discussion and welcomes discussions of alternative outcomes, including potential restructuring efforts or integration with other Wikimedia initiatives.
Options mentioned so far (which might be applied to just low-activity languages or all languages) include but are not limited to:
- Restructure how Wikinews works and is linked to other current events efforts on the projects,
- Merge the content of Wikinews into the relevant language Wikipedias, possibly in a new namespace,
- Merge content into compatibly licensed external projects,
- Archive Wikinews projects.
Your insights and perspectives are invaluable in shaping the future of these projects. We encourage all interested community members to share their thoughts on the relevant discussion pages or through other designated feedback channels.
Feedback and next steps
[rediger kilde]We'd be grateful if you want to take part in a conversation on the future of these projects and the review process. We are setting up two different project pages: Public consultation about Wikispore and Public consultation about Wikinews. Please participate between 27 June 2025 and 27 July 2025, after which we will summarize the discussion to move forward. You can write in your own language.
I will also host a community conversation 16th July Wednesday 11.00 UTC and 17th July Thursday 17.00 UTC (call links to follow shortly) and will be around at Wikimania for more discussions.
-- Victoria on behalf of the Sister Project Task Force, 27. jun. 2025 kl. 22:57 (CEST)
Tech News: 2025-27
[rediger kilde]Latest tech news from the Wikimedia technical community. Please tell other users about these changes. Not all changes will affect you. Translations are available.
Weekly highlight
- The CampaignEvents extension has been enabled on all Wikipedias. The extension makes it easier to organize and participate in collaborative activities, like edit-a-thons and WikiProjects, on the wikis. The extension has three features: Event Registration, Collaboration List, and Invitation List. To request the extension for your wiki, visit the Deployment information page.
Updates for editors
- AbuseFilter maintainers can now match against IP reputation data in AbuseFilters. IP reputation data is information about the proxies and VPNs associated with the user's IP address. This data is not shown publicly and is not generated for actions performed by registered accounts. [7]
- Hidden content that is within collapsible parts of wikipages will now be revealed when someone searches the page using the web browser's "Find in page" function (Ctrl+F or ⌘F) in supporting browsers. [8][9]
A new feature, called Favourite Templates, will be deployed later this week on all projects (except English Wikipedia, which will receive the feature next week), following a piloting phase on Polish and Arabic Wikipedia, and Italian and English Wikisource. The feature will provide a better way for new and experienced contributors to recall and discover templates via the template dialog, by allowing users to put templates on a special "favourite list". The feature works with both the visual editor and the wikitext editor. The feature is a community wishlist focus area.- View all 31 community-submitted tasks that were resolved last week. For example, a bug was fixed that had caused some Notifications to be sent multiple times. [10]
Updates for technical contributors
- Detailed code updates later this week: MediaWiki
Tech news prepared by Tech News writers and posted by bot • Contribute • Translate • Get help • Give feedback • Subscribe or unsubscribe.