LGBT Outreach Project

Wikimedia LGBT Outreach Project logo

Project partner:
English Wikipedia's WikiProject LGBT studies

Project partner:
Wikinews LGBT Portal

Project purpose

Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender contributors across Wikimedia projects are a significant minority of all contributors from all backgrounds. This outreach programme is intended to provide support and encouragement for LGBT editors and potential contributors to feel confident to contribute to LGBT related topics.

Contributors should feel comfortable to identify their sexuality on-wiki if they wish, without fear of harassment. Contributors should also be made aware of the risks they may face in doing so, particularly if they identify their account with their legal identity or are outed at some future point.

This project sets out to provide the advice, active support and tools that LGBT editors may need to contribute safely and with a ready support network if they are unsure of how to do the right thing within the wider community or how to handle apparent LGBT related harassment.

Additionally it will attempt cross-wiki coordination of LGBT related WikiProjects and build a greater sense of community among LGBT Wikimedians across all Wikimedia projects.

Goals

1. Improve the editing experience for all contributors by ensuring that LGBT related harassment is dealt with by simple policies in a prompt manner regardless of sexuality.
2. Ensure policies are effective across all Wikimedia projects.
3. Provide support networks such as specific and welcoming IRC and OTRS support.
4. Provide a sympathetic appeal mechanism when dispute resolution has failed and a contributor would prefer a self identified LGBT mediator or arbitrator to handle their case.
5. Create a safer environment for LGBT readers of Wikimedia projects, with a special interest in improving the experiences of LGBT youth on Wikimedia projects.
6. Build greater community among LGBT Wikimedians.
7. Coordinate cross-wiki efforts among WikiProjects engaged in specific LGBT content development.

Specific outcomes

• Increased participation and visibility by LGBT communities at Wikimania 2012 - building towards even greater engagement at future Wikimanias
• Increased (open) participation by members of the LGBT communities on all Wikimedia projects
• Coordination of LGBT WikiProjects
  • LGBT history and culture presentations at GLAM-WIKI 2012.
  • Increased quality and depth of LGBT articles.
  • Representation of LGBT monuments in Wiki Loves Monuments
• Guidelines on Outreach for recommending and improving policies across Wikimedia projects.
  • Chapter and WMF safe space policies to cover all events specifically ensuring any complaints of apparent LGBT related harassment are dealt with effectively and promptly.
  • Guidance for new LGBT editors (and those that edit LGBT topics) on how to stay safe and how to find help when things go wrong.
  • Simple guide to responding to LGBT related harassment or threats on all Wikimedia projects and IRC.
• Access to LGBT specific help on-wiki, IRC and email (for example, access to LGBT identified OTRS volunteers via lgbtwikimedia.org and gaywikimedia.org).
• Independent and expert assessment of the Wikimedia projects and the Wikimedia Foundation's effectiveness at handling homophobic harassment cases.
• Commissioned surveys and statistical reporting on LGBT participation and perception of editing experience in order to support planned improvements.
• Model for future minority outreach projects
  • Ideally going into Wikimania 2013 with at least four such projects - LGBT among them

Activities

Community building

• Outreach at Wikimania
  • Third Annual Wikimania LGBT Meetup at Wikimania 2012 in DC
• Outreach at LGBT events
• Outreach at Wikimedia events
• Collaborations with outside "thematic organizations"
• Liaising and outreach to outside LGBT organizations

Interwiki collaboration

• Coordination of LGBT WikiProjects
  • Wiki Loves Monuments
  • GLAM

Safe space development

• Making Wikimedia Projects safe spaces for LGBT volunteers, paid personnel, and readers
• Related policies
• Request for WMF board resolution on homophobia

LGBT Outreach Project coordination

Meetings

Held on the second Wednesday of the month at 22:00 GMT on IRC (#wikimedia-lgbt ^connect). Agendas will be linked from this section in advance.

• 11 July 2012

Resources

• Logo
• Promotional notecard
• Email discussion list sign up sheet

Participants

Initial project board

The term "board" is being used loosely to describe the group generally responsible for coordinating this project's activities.

• Varnent (talk)
• Fæ (talk)
• Tom Morris (talk)
• Blue Rasberry (talk) 02:23, 12 April 2012 (UTC)
• Shujenchang (talk) 07:12, 5 August 2012 (UTC)

Supporters / interested participants

Not necessarily able to or interested in leadership activities - but supports the project's efforts.

• If I can do something concrete whether in Belgium, whether on the French Wikipedia, whether on Wikimedia Commons, I will be happy to participate actively. Meanwhile, I already support the effort. --Dereckson (talk) 23:26, 11 June 2012 (UTC)
• Shujenchang (talk) 21:44, 24 July 2012 (UTC)

History

Previous LGBT outreach

• In 2011, as part of Wikipedia Loves Libraries, Wikimedians worked with the Tom of Finland Foundation Library in Los Angeles on the "Queering Wikipedia Editathon". See ToFF website, American Libraries Magazine article.

Current outreach project

• Created on April 6th, 2012 following a conversation amongst founding project leaders on IRC
• Launched #wikimedia-lgbt ^connect on same day
• Requested lgbt@lists.wikimedia.org on June 23, 2012
• Creation of LGBTlists.wikimedia.org mailing list on July 1, 2012