From niesyto at fk615.uni-siegen.de  Mon Aug  2 16:24:46 2010
From: niesyto at fk615.uni-siegen.de (Niesyto, Johanna)
Date: Mon, 2 Aug 2010 16:24:46 +0200
Subject: <CPOV> CPOV in Leipzig
Message-ID: <4109080A6B8F554E9C8EFDCA3DE7500FC7745C75CE@MAIL40.uni-siegen.de>


[[Wikipedia:Ein kritischer Standpunkt]]
September 25-26, 2010
University Library Leipzig, Germany

On 25th and 26th of September 2010 the German speaking conference [[Wikipedia:Ein kritischer Standpunkt]] ([[Wikipedia:Critical Point of View]]) will take place at the University Library in Leipzig, Germany. The conference will gather Wikipedia researchers, critics as well as community-members from the German-speaking world for an interdisciplinary debate. In particular the significance of Wikipedia for education, politics, culture and society will be discussed.

Wikipedia is one of the largest, if not the largest, self-contained general knowledge reference of our time. It offers critical insights into the contemporary status of knowledge, its organizing principles, function, impact, production styles, mechanisms for conflict resolution, and relation to power (re-)constitution. New strategic and tactical operations of knowledge and power are clearly at work through Wikipedia. Of specific interest is the concept of 'the open', which is ambiguous within the social formation(s) constituted by Wikipedia, serving as both a rallying concept of digital democracy enthusiasts and as an ideoglical nodal point masking new agonistic encounters.

In both material and perceptional ways, every new technology modifies the conditions of possibility for knowledge. The logic of technologies bleeds into the very structures and organizing principles of knowledge, and today both medium and message may reflect the ideas of the (organized) network, multitude, or the Deleuzian machine. It is through a selected mix of technological and normative conditions ? the distributed architecture of the net, the Wiki software platform, commons-based property licenses and the FLOSS zeitgeist ? that Wikipedia as the encyclopedia of the information age emerges, both continuing and transforming the Enlightenment encyclopedic impulse or will to know.

The main topics of the conference are Wikipedia & The Politics of Open Knowledge, Digital Governance, and Wikipedia & Education. These topics derive from the significance of the online encyclopedia in the reconfiguration of knowledge (re-)production and its consequences for the public, architectures of participation, and political education in a media democracy. Alongside presentations of established scholars like Christian Stegbauer, Peter Haber, Rainer Hammw?hner, Ram?n Reichert, and Ulrich Johannes Schneider, the programme of the conference will consist of a panel discussion of Wikipedia community-members and critics, as well as Wikipedia-workshops and a research network meeting.

The research network meeting addresses Wikipedia researchers to discuss their current research and draft new research projects. Especially aimed for young academics, the research network meeting is planned as open space, allowing its participants to actively engage in the event as questions and topics are shaped and discussed among the group. To participate, we ask for a registration by email not later than August 31, 2010 to info at cpov.de. Please include a description of your research interest or abstract of your research on one page and tell us, if you are interested to make a short presentation.

The Leipzig conference continues the series of international conferences of the Wikipedia Research Initiative Critical Point of View from January and March 2010 in Bangalore (India) and Amsterdam (Netherlands). It is hosted by cultiv ? Gesellschaft f?r internationale Kulturprojekte e.V. in cooperation with the Research Initiative Critical Point of View and funded by the Bundeszentrale f?r politische Bildung.

The conference will be open to the public. There will be no participation fee. Conference language is German.

For further information please visit the conference website: www.cpov.de

Deadline for the Registration for the network meeting: August 31, 2010

Concept and Editorial board: Geert Lovink, Johanna Niesyto and Andreas M?llenkamp

Contact
cultiv
Gesellschaft f?r internationale Kulturprojekte e.V.
Bernhard-G?ring-Str. 65
D-04107 Leipzig
Tel. +49-341-2228893
Email: info at cpov.de
www.cpov.de




From mathieu.oneil at anu.edu.au  Sat Aug  7 14:47:26 2010
From: mathieu.oneil at anu.edu.au (Mathieu ONeil)
Date: Sat, 07 Aug 2010 14:47:26 +0200
Subject: <CPOV> The non linear effects of leaks on unjust systems of
	governance
In-Reply-To: <4109080A6B8F554E9C8EFDCA3DE7500FC7745C75CE@MAIL40.uni-siegen.de>
References: <4109080A6B8F554E9C8EFDCA3DE7500FC7745C75CE@MAIL40.uni-siegen.de>
Message-ID: <fbb4a75a630aa.4c5d71fe@anu.edu.au>

Someone sent me the following links to texts by the man of the moment, Mr. Assange. Actually, they sent me the pdfs of the papers, but I wasnt sure if could or should post these here, so I'm just sending the intro and links. The texts deal with states and conspiracies, the roles of leaks etc. Have not read through but looks interesting, if only at a "human interest" level.
cheers,
mathieu

=-=-=-=
CRYPTOME
31 July 2010
These essays on conspiracies by Julian Assange (me at iq.org) were retrieved
today from his website iq.org. The first from the currently active site, dated
Novermber 10, 2006, and the second at archive.org, dated December 3, 2006.
http://iq.org/conspiracies.pdf
http://web.archive.org/web/20070110200827/http://iq.org/conspiracies.pdf
Thanks to Jason Lewis for pointing to this in his Mail On Sunday report.
Julian Assange:
http://web.archive.org/web/20071020051936/http://iq.org/
Sun 31 Dec 2006 : The non linear effects of leaks on unjust systems of
governance
You may want to read The Road to Hanoi or Conspiracy as Governance [second
essay following]; an obscure motivational document, almost useless in light of its
decontextualization and perhaps even then. But if you read this latter document
while thinking about how different structures of power are differentially affected
by leaks (the defection of the inner to the outer) its motivations may become
clearer.
The more secretive or unjust an organization is, the more leaks induce fear and
paranoia in its leadership and planning coterie. This must result in minimization
of efficient internal communications mechanisms (an increase in cognitive
"secrecy tax") and consequent system-wide cognitive decline resulting in
decreased ability to hold onto power as the environment demands adaption.
Hence in a world where leaking is easy, secretive or unjust systems are
nonlinearly hit relative to open, just systems. Since unjust systems, by their
nature induce opponents, and in many places barely have the upper hand, mass
leaking leaves them exquisitely vulnerable to those who seek to replace them
with more open forms of governance.
Only revealed injustice can be answered; for man to do anything intelligent he
has to know what's actually going on.
_________
More: http://web.archive.org/web/*/http://iq.org

=-=-=-=


****
Dr Mathieu O'Neil
Adjunct Research Fellow
Australian Demographic and Social Research Institute
College of Arts and Social Science
The Australian National University
email: mathieu.oneil[at]anu.edu.au
web: http://adsri.anu.edu.au/people/visitors/mathieu.php



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From juliana at networkcultures.org  Fri Aug 20 11:06:06 2010
From: juliana at networkcultures.org (Juliana Brunello)
Date: Fri, 20 Aug 2010 11:06:06 +0200 (CEST)
Subject: <CPOV> Interview with Hendrik-Jan Grievink
Message-ID: <1342.145.92.192.109.1282295166.squirrel@webmail.sonologic.nl>

Interview with Hendrik-Jan Grievink online at the cpov blog on imagens,
wikimedia commons, wiki loves art, etc:

http://networkcultures.org/wpmu/cpov/lang/de/2010/08/20/interview-with-hendrik-jan-grievink/

Best,
Juliana

Institute of Network Cultures
HvA Interactive Media
t: +31 (0)20 595 18 66
f: +31 (0)20 595 18 40
www.networkcultures.org




From Mayo.Fuster at EUI.eu  Wed Aug 25 13:49:29 2010
From: Mayo.Fuster at EUI.eu (Fuster, Mayo)
Date: Wed, 25 Aug 2010 13:49:29 +0200
Subject: <CPOV> The 3rd Free Culture Research Conference. Free Culture
	between Commons and Markets: Approaching the Hybrid Economy?
References: <1342.145.92.192.109.1282295166.squirrel@webmail.sonologic.nl>
Message-ID: <F442E6A7D8139D47B32E30E689AF802C03E36CFF@MAILSRV2.iue.private>

In case people in this list is interested see below the call to participate at the "The 3rd Free Culture Research Conference. Free Culture between Commons and Markets: Approaching the Hybrid Economy?"
(October 8-9, Berlin). Have a nice day! Mayo

The 3rd Free Culture Research Conference
Free Culture between Commons and Markets: Approaching the Hybrid Economy?
October 8-9, Berlin.

Registration Open
http://wikis.fu-berlin.de/display/fcrc/Registration

The Free Culture Research Conference presents a unique opportunity for scholars whose work contributes to the promotion, study or criticism of a Free Culture, to engage with a multidisciplinary group of academic peers and practitioners, identify the most important research opportunities and challenges, and attempt to chart the future of Free Culture. This event builds upon the successful workshop held in 2009 at the Berkman Center for Internet and Society at Harvard University, organized and attended by renowned scholars and research institutions from the US, Europe and Asia. The first event was held in Sapporo, Japan, in 2008, in conjunction with the 4th iCommons Summit. This year's event is larger in ambition and scope, to provide more time for interaction in joint as well as break-out sessions. It is hosted jointly by the Free University of Berlin and the Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies and will take place at October 8-9, 2010 at the Free University Campus
in Berlin, in collaboration with COMMUNIA, the European Network on the digital public domain and Wikimedia Germany. Funding and support is also provided by the Heinrich B?ll Foundation.

Please visit the conference wiki to register and learn more:
http://wikis.fu-berlin.de/display/fcrc/Home


???`?.(*?.?(`?.? ?.??)?.?*).??`??
????*???? Mayo Fuster Morell ?.?.?*?`??
???`?.(?.??(?.?* *?.?)`?.?).??`??

Research Digital Commons Governance: http://www.onlinecreation.info
European University Institute - Phd Candidate
School of information Berkeley Visiting researcher
Phone Italy: (New!) 0039-3312805010 or 0039-0558409982
Phone Spanish State: 0034-648877748
E-mail: mayo.fuster at eui.eu
Skype: mayoneti
Identi.ca: Mayo
Postal address: Badia Fiesolana - Via dei Roccettini 9, I-50014 San Domenico di Fiesole (FI) - Italy 
Fax [+39] 055 4685 201

???`?.(*?.?(`?.? ?.??)?.?*).??`??
????*???? Mayo Fuster Morell ?.?.?*?`??
???`?.(?.??(?.?* *?.?)`?.?).??`??

Research Digital Commons Governance: http://www.onlinecreation.info
European University Institute - Phd Candidate
School of information Berkeley Visiting researcher
Phone Italy: (New!) 0039-3312805010 or 0039-0558409982
Phone Spanish State: 0034-648877748
E-mail: mayo.fuster at eui.eu
Skype: mayoneti
Identi.ca: Mayo
Postal address: Badia Fiesolana - Via dei Roccettini 9, I-50014 San Domenico di Fiesole (FI) - Italy 
Fax [+39] 055 4685 201

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From dqamir at bezeqint.net  Mon Aug 30 06:07:38 2010
From: dqamir at bezeqint.net (Dror Kamir)
Date: Mon, 30 Aug 2010 07:07:38 +0300
Subject: <CPOV> Is anyone acquainted with this interesting French Wikibuster
	website?
In-Reply-To: <F442E6A7D8139D47B32E30E689AF802C03E36CFF@MAILSRV2.iue.private>
References: <1342.145.92.192.109.1282295166.squirrel@webmail.sonologic.nl>
	<F442E6A7D8139D47B32E30E689AF802C03E36CFF@MAILSRV2.iue.private>
Message-ID: <4C7B2E8A.10206@bezeqint.net>

  Hi,

I read French quite slowly, so it'll take me some time to read the 
material on this site, but it looks interesting. It is very critical, 
though, made up of people who were blocked on WP (I could join them, in 
fact, had my French been better).

http://www.wikibuster.org/index.php?title=Accueil

Thanks,

Dror K



From majava at ifi.uio.no  Mon Aug 30 10:04:05 2010
From: majava at ifi.uio.no (Maja van der Velden)
Date: Mon, 30 Aug 2010 10:04:05 +0200
Subject: <CPOV> Fwd: Guardian article on Wikipedia and Israel
References: <276C99A2-9A17-44AD-8992-CA2F6E0DB1A2@xs4all.nl>
Message-ID: <DBA2FB69-6DC9-4F92-9341-84A6E48EB718@ifi.uio.no>

Hi,

I send this message a while ago, but it was never posted because I had  
sent it from the from email address. Maybe most of you have seen it by  
now. But since it was not posted on the CPOV list, some who are  
interested in Wikipedia editing politics may want to read it.

Greetings,

Maja

Forwarded message:


To see this story with its related links on the guardian.co.uk site,  
go to http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/aug/18/wikipedia-editing-zionist-groups

Wikipedia editing courses launched by Zionist groups

Two Israeli groups set up training courses in Wikipedia editing with  
aims to 'show the other side' over borders and culture

Rachel Shabi in Jerusalem and Jemima Kiss
Thursday August 19, 2010
The Guardian


http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/aug/18/wikipedia-editing-zionist-groups


Since the earliest days of the worldwide web, the conflict between  
Israelis and Palestinians has seen its rhetorical counterpart fought  
out on the talkboards and chatrooms of the internet.

Now two Israeli groups seeking to gain the upper hand in the online  
debate have launched a course in "Zionist editing" for Wikipedia, the  
online reference site.

Yesha Council, representing the Jewish settler movement, and the  
rightwing Israel Sheli (My Israel) movement, ran their first workshop  
this week in Jerusalem, teaching participants how to rewrite and  
revise some of the most hotly disputed pages of the online reference  
site.

"We don't want to change Wikipedia or turn it into a propaganda arm,"  
says Naftali Bennett, director of the Yesha Council. "We just want to  
show the other side. People think that Israelis are mean, evil people  
who only want to hurt Arabs all day."

Wikipedia is one of the world's most popular websites, and its 16m  
entries are open for anyone to edit, rewrite or even erase. The  
problem, according to Ayelet Shaked of Israel Sheli, is that online,  
pro-Israeli activists are vastly outnumbered by pro-Palestinian  
voices. "We don't want to give this arena to the other side," she  
said. "But we are so few and they are so many. People in the US and  
Europe never hear about Israel's side, with all the correct arguments  
and explanations."

Like others involved with this project, Shaked thinks that her  
government is "not doing a very good job" of explaining Israel to the  
world.

And on Wikipedia, they believe that there is much work to do.

Take the page on Israel, for a start: "The map of Israel is portrayed  
without the Golan heights or Judea and Samaria," said Bennett,  
referring to the annexed Syrian territory and the West Bank area  
occupied by Israel in 1967.

Another point of contention is the reference to Jerusalem as the  
capital of Israel - a status that is constantly altered on Wikipedia.

Other pages subject to constant re-editing include one titled Goods  
allowed/banned for import into Gaza - which is now being considered  
for deletion ? and a page on the Palestinian territories.

Then there is the problem of what to call certain neighbourhoods. "Is  
Ariel a city or a settlement?" asks Shaked of the area currently  
described by Wikipedia as "an Israeli settlement and a city in the  
central West Bank." That question is the subject of several thousand  
words of heated debate on a Wikipedia discussion thread.

The idea, says Shaked and her colleauges, is not to storm in, cause  
havoc and get booted out - the Wikipedia editing community is  
sensitive, consensus-based and it takes time to build trust.

"We learned what not to do: don't jump into deep waters immediately,  
don't be argumentative, realise that there is a semi-democratic  
community out there, realise how not to get yourself banned," says  
Yisrael Medad, one of the course participants, from Shiloh.

Is that Shiloh in the occupied West Bank? "No," he sighs, patiently.  
"That's Shiloh in the Binyamin region across the Green Line, or in  
territories described as disputed."

One Jerusalem-based Wikipedia editor, who doesn't want to be named,  
said that publicising the initiative might not be such a good idea.  
"Going public in the past has had a bad effect," she says. "There is a  
war going on and unfortunately the way to fight it has to be  
underground."

In 2008, members of the hawkish pro-Israel watchdog Camera who  
secretly planned to edit Wikipedia were banned from the site by  
administrators.

Meanwhile, Yesha is building an information taskforce to engage with  
new media, by posting to sites such as Facebook and YouTube, and  
claims to have 12,000 active members, with up to 100 more signing up  
each month. "It turns out there is quite a thirst for this activity,"  
says Bennett. "The Israeli public is frustrated with the way it is  
portrayed abroad."

The organisiers of the Wikipedia courses, are already planning a  
competition to find the "Best Zionist editor", with a prize of a hot- 
air balloon trip over Israel.


Wikipedia wars

There are frequent flare-ups between competing volunteer editors and  
obsessives who run Wikipedia.  As well as conflicts over editing bias  
and "astroturfing" PR attempts, articles are occasionally edited to  
catch out journalists; the Independent recently erroneously published  
that the Big Chill had started life as the Wanky Balls festival. In  
2005 the founding editorial director of USA Today, John Seigenthaler,  
discovered his Wikipedia entry included the claim that he was involved  
in the assassination of JFK.

Editors can remain anonymous when changing content, but conflicts are  
passed to Wikipedia's arbitration committee. Scientology was a regular  
source of conflict until the committee blocked editing by the movement.

Critics cite the editing problems as proof of a flawed site that can  
be edited by almost anybody, but its defenders claim the issues are  
tiny compared with its scale. Wikipedia now has versions in 271  
languages and 379 million users a month.





From dqamir at bezeqint.net  Mon Aug 30 10:14:37 2010
From: dqamir at bezeqint.net (Dror Kamir)
Date: Mon, 30 Aug 2010 11:14:37 +0300
Subject: <CPOV> Fwd: Guardian article on Wikipedia and Israel
In-Reply-To: <DBA2FB69-6DC9-4F92-9341-84A6E48EB718@ifi.uio.no>
References: <276C99A2-9A17-44AD-8992-CA2F6E0DB1A2@xs4all.nl>
	<DBA2FB69-6DC9-4F92-9341-84A6E48EB718@ifi.uio.no>
Message-ID: <4C7B686D.4040504@bezeqint.net>

  Oh, that story has been long debated here among Israeli Wikipedians. I 
have even been contacted by a reporter of BBC Arabic about it. It's not 
as big a story as it seems on the media. For the time being it looks 
like a balloon filled with hot air. There is, however a 
pro-Palestinian/pro-Arab group that has been working to push 
Arab/Palestinian agenda on the English Wikipedia. They are active for 
about a year and a half or two years now, and they receive significant 
cooperation from admins. They have never declared themselves as an 
organization, but it is easy to trace their goals and cooperation by 
looking at the history of their contributions.

Dror K


?????? 30/08/10 11:04, ????? Maja van der Velden:
> Hi,
>
> I send this message a while ago, but it was never posted because I had 
> sent it from the from email address. Maybe most of you have seen it by 
> now. But since it was not posted on the CPOV list, some who are 
> interested in Wikipedia editing politics may want to read it.
>
> Greetings,
>
> Maja
>
> Forwarded message:
>
>
> To see this story with its related links on the guardian.co.uk site, 
> go to 
> http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/aug/18/wikipedia-editing-zionist-groups
>
> Wikipedia editing courses launched by Zionist groups
>
> Two Israeli groups set up training courses in Wikipedia editing with 
> aims to 'show the other side' over borders and culture
>
> Rachel Shabi in Jerusalem and Jemima Kiss
> Thursday August 19, 2010
> The Guardian
>
>
> http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/aug/18/wikipedia-editing-zionist-groups 
>
>
>
> Since the earliest days of the worldwide web, the conflict between 
> Israelis and Palestinians has seen its rhetorical counterpart fought 
> out on the talkboards and chatrooms of the internet.
>
> Now two Israeli groups seeking to gain the upper hand in the online 
> debate have launched a course in "Zionist editing" for Wikipedia, the 
> online reference site.
>
> Yesha Council, representing the Jewish settler movement, and the 
> rightwing Israel Sheli (My Israel) movement, ran their first workshop 
> this week in Jerusalem, teaching participants how to rewrite and 
> revise some of the most hotly disputed pages of the online reference 
> site.
>
> "We don't want to change Wikipedia or turn it into a propaganda arm," 
> says Naftali Bennett, director of the Yesha Council. "We just want to 
> show the other side. People think that Israelis are mean, evil people 
> who only want to hurt Arabs all day."
>
> Wikipedia is one of the world's most popular websites, and its 16m 
> entries are open for anyone to edit, rewrite or even erase. The 
> problem, according to Ayelet Shaked of Israel Sheli, is that online, 
> pro-Israeli activists are vastly outnumbered by pro-Palestinian 
> voices. "We don't want to give this arena to the other side," she 
> said. "But we are so few and they are so many. People in the US and 
> Europe never hear about Israel's side, with all the correct arguments 
> and explanations."
>
> Like others involved with this project, Shaked thinks that her 
> government is "not doing a very good job" of explaining Israel to the 
> world.
>
> And on Wikipedia, they believe that there is much work to do.
>
> Take the page on Israel, for a start: "The map of Israel is portrayed 
> without the Golan heights or Judea and Samaria," said Bennett, 
> referring to the annexed Syrian territory and the West Bank area 
> occupied by Israel in 1967.
>
> Another point of contention is the reference to Jerusalem as the 
> capital of Israel - a status that is constantly altered on Wikipedia.
>
> Other pages subject to constant re-editing include one titled Goods 
> allowed/banned for import into Gaza - which is now being considered 
> for deletion ? and a page on the Palestinian territories.
>
> Then there is the problem of what to call certain neighbourhoods. "Is 
> Ariel a city or a settlement?" asks Shaked of the area currently 
> described by Wikipedia as "an Israeli settlement and a city in the 
> central West Bank." That question is the subject of several thousand 
> words of heated debate on a Wikipedia discussion thread.
>
> The idea, says Shaked and her colleauges, is not to storm in, cause 
> havoc and get booted out - the Wikipedia editing community is 
> sensitive, consensus-based and it takes time to build trust.
>
> "We learned what not to do: don't jump into deep waters immediately, 
> don't be argumentative, realise that there is a semi-democratic 
> community out there, realise how not to get yourself banned," says 
> Yisrael Medad, one of the course participants, from Shiloh.
>
> Is that Shiloh in the occupied West Bank? "No," he sighs, patiently. 
> "That's Shiloh in the Binyamin region across the Green Line, or in 
> territories described as disputed."
>
> One Jerusalem-based Wikipedia editor, who doesn't want to be named, 
> said that publicising the initiative might not be such a good idea. 
> "Going public in the past has had a bad effect," she says. "There is a 
> war going on and unfortunately the way to fight it has to be 
> underground."
>
> In 2008, members of the hawkish pro-Israel watchdog Camera who 
> secretly planned to edit Wikipedia were banned from the site by 
> administrators.
>
> Meanwhile, Yesha is building an information taskforce to engage with 
> new media, by posting to sites such as Facebook and YouTube, and 
> claims to have 12,000 active members, with up to 100 more signing up 
> each month. "It turns out there is quite a thirst for this activity," 
> says Bennett. "The Israeli public is frustrated with the way it is 
> portrayed abroad."
>
> The organisiers of the Wikipedia courses, are already planning a 
> competition to find the "Best Zionist editor", with a prize of a 
> hot-air balloon trip over Israel.
>
>
> Wikipedia wars
>
> There are frequent flare-ups between competing volunteer editors and 
> obsessives who run Wikipedia.  As well as conflicts over editing bias 
> and "astroturfing" PR attempts, articles are occasionally edited to 
> catch out journalists; the Independent recently erroneously published 
> that the Big Chill had started life as the Wanky Balls festival. In 
> 2005 the founding editorial director of USA Today, John Seigenthaler, 
> discovered his Wikipedia entry included the claim that he was involved 
> in the assassination of JFK.
>
> Editors can remain anonymous when changing content, but conflicts are 
> passed to Wikipedia's arbitration committee. Scientology was a regular 
> source of conflict until the committee blocked editing by the movement.
>
> Critics cite the editing problems as proof of a flawed site that can 
> be edited by almost anybody, but its defenders claim the issues are 
> tiny compared with its scale. Wikipedia now has versions in 271 
> languages and 379 million users a month.
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Cpov mailing list
> Cpov at listcultures.org
> http://listcultures.org/mailman/listinfo/cpov_listcultures.org
>



From Johanna.Niesyto at uni-siegen.de  Tue Aug 31 15:44:17 2010
From: Johanna.Niesyto at uni-siegen.de (Niesyto, Johanna)
Date: Tue, 31 Aug 2010 15:44:17 +0200
Subject: <CPOV> CPOV Leipzig: Conference Programme
Message-ID: <4109080A6B8F554E9C8EFDCA3DE7500FC774E17777@MAIL40.uni-siegen.de>

EVERYONE IS WELCOME!

The conference [[Wikipedia:Ein Kritischer Standpunkt]] will take place in Leipzig/Germany, on 24, 25 & 26 September 2010. 

It will be a German-speaking CPOV event dealing with the following topics:

    * Wikipedia & the Politics of Open Knowledge
    * Wikipedia & Governance
    * Wikipedia & (Political) Education
    * Wikipedia & Knowledge (Re)Presentation
    * The Future of the Knowledge Society

Here you find the conference programm in German:  http://www.cpov.de/?page_id=186

The conference is funded by the Bundeszentrale f?r Politische Bildung (http://www.bpb.de/).

Also, on Friday, 24 September 2010 Wikipedia-Workshops will be offered with friendly support by Wikimedia Germany (http://www.wikimedia.de/).



From dqamir at bezeqint.net  Tue Aug 31 18:56:25 2010
From: dqamir at bezeqint.net (Dror Kamir)
Date: Tue, 31 Aug 2010 19:56:25 +0300
Subject: <CPOV> My reflections about certain aspects of WP and some more
 Middle-Eastern-Wikipedian information
In-Reply-To: <4109080A6B8F554E9C8EFDCA3DE7500FC774E17777@MAIL40.uni-siegen.de>
References: <4109080A6B8F554E9C8EFDCA3DE7500FC774E17777@MAIL40.uni-siegen.de>
Message-ID: <4C7D3439.3050409@bezeqint.net>

  Hi,

Those of you who had a conversation with me about Wikipedia, won't find 
these posts of mine very innovative, and yet, I think I managed to 
summarize two aspects of my criticism on the current governing policies 
there. The link is to my FaceBook "notes". The discussion that follows 
these "notes" is also worth reading (I think).

http://www.facebook.com/notes.php?id=559929544

Good luck to you in Leipzig (unfortunately I don't speak German, and the 
upcoming holiday season compels me to stay close to my mother's kitchen, 
though more as an eater than as a cook).

*   *   *

Regarding the "Zionist edit" initiative and the controversy around it, 
apparently this is not a new thing at all. Apparently I should have made 
a deeper research when I prepared my talk about the Middle East conflict 
on WP, but I can say in my defense, that people do their best to hide 
the intrigues and scandals surrounding this issue.

Here's a report about "Wikipedians for Palestine" on the WikipediaReview 
forum. The responses are fascinating too:
http://wikipediareview.com/index.php?showtopic=3052&pid=13208&mode=threaded&show=&st=&#entry13208
This Yahoo groups was established in 2006 and ceased to exist, I don't 
know when.
This screen-shot is perhaps its last remnant 
http://www.zionismontheweb.org/internet_warfare/Wikipedia_palestine1.jpg

Here is a similar pro-Israeli attempt from 2008
http://electronicintifada.net/downloads/pdf/080421-camera-wikipedia.pdf

Here is the (somewhat hysterical) response on the Electronic Wikipedia 
website:
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article9474.shtml

And the protocol of the Wikipedian tribunal about the case:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:CAMERA

Here is a report comparing the reaction to each of the aforementioned 
incidents (the writer is pro-Israeli):
http://wikibias.com/2010/08/camera-wikipedians-for-palestine/

In the Middle East like in the Middle East, an imposed ceasefire is just 
a prelude before the next war...
There is probably an informal pro-Palestinian/pro-Arab group currently 
active on the English WP.
This is a very critical article about it - 
http://wikibias.wordpress.com/category/how-to-dominate-with-misinformation/
I checked some of the information myself, and I can say cautiously that 
he seems to be right about several names and incorrect about others, and 
there is at least one name that he missed.

The "Zionist reaction" 
(http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/the-right-s-latest-weapon-zionist-editing-on-wikipedia-1.308667) 
seems to be nothing but hot air, but nevertheless it triggered this 
Palestinian response: 
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/palestinians-prepare-to-battle-zionist-editing-on-wikipedia-1.310836?localLinksEnabled=false

Since it is the eve of the Jewish new year and also Laylat al-Qadr of 
Ramadan, let me end with a prayer than this virtual cat-fight will be 
the only fight in the Middle East. I am concerned, however, that the 
concept of WP will be harmed eventually.

Dror K