There have been numerous debates on the use of a non-free image to depictKim Jong-un, most notably two RfCs (one in2012, and another in2015). These debates began even before he was leader of North Korea (see2010 discussion). A non-free image was never approved, and literally dozens of uploads of non-free images of him under various file names were deleted both on en.wikipedia and on Commons (see example here, andexample on Commons). A FAQ (seeTalk:Kim Jong Un/FAQ) was even added to the header of the talk page informing people why there was no image of him. Non-free images or copyright violating images of him were added to the infobox of the article countless times. In every case, the images were removed. Efforts were made to generate a free license alternative, by way of photo-realistic images and sketches. Even that became a subject of debate (seediscussion) and edit warring.Finally, after nearly 12 years of the article's existence, a free license image of Kim Jong-un has been made and released.This image, found and uploaded to Commons on March 6 byCyberdoomslayer, is a derivative work fromFile:Kim Jong-un at the Workers' Party of Korea main building.png, and a day later is already in use on 8 different language Wikipedias. It is currentlybeing used on dozens of Wikipedias.
The Wikimedia Foundation stated in their 2008 resolution on licensing policy that non-free images of living people would almost always not be allowed. No.1 of the 10-pointlocal English Wikipedia policy, of which all points must be met, explicitly states "or could be created", which echoed the Foundation's decree in that we could not allow non-free content where free license content could be created. This was the sticking point with all Kim Jong-un photographs until this image was found; no free license images existed or could be located. The uploading of this image has finally broken theGordian knot, and ended many years of debate on a crucial non-free content licensing issue.–Eddie891
Cesare Previti, described by the English Wikipedia as "a former Italian politician and convicted criminal", sued WMF to remove what he said was damaging information about him. InPreviti v. Wikimedia Foundation, Previti sued the Wikimedia Foundation for hosting an article with defamatory content.
The case, which was initiated in 2012, was originally decided in favor of Wikimedia by the Civil Court in Rome, and was affirmed by the Court of Appeals of Rome on Feb. 19, 2018. "The court held that as a hosting provider, the Wikimedia Foundation cannot be held liable for the content of Wikipedia articles, which it does not control. The court also noted that both the Foundation and the Wikipedia sites themselves provide information about the open and collaborative nature of the encyclopedia." The Wikimedia Foundation said the ruling "protects the community editing model".(adapted froma Wikimedia blog post by Jacob Rogers and Emine Yildirim)
AstrophysicistStephen Hawking, who passed away in the middle of March, was one of the most influential scientists of all time. Pageviews of Hawking’s article led the Top-10 across all language Wikipedias and was the most popular of the month on the Spanish, German, French, Portuguese, Arabic, Polish, and Farsi Wikipedias (and probably more). The English Wikipedia entry on Hawking is a former Featured Article; the featured photo on the right has been selected as Picture of the Day on Wikimedia Commons for 26 April 2018.
Hawking's research onblack holes achieved groundbreaking work in the field ofquantum gravity andtheoretical cosmology. A recipient of thePresidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian award in the United States, in 2002 he was ranked number 25 in the BBC's poll of the 100 Greatest Britons.
His 1988 bookA Brief History of Time: From the Big Bang to Black Holes is a popular-science book on cosmology (the study of the universe). The book which was written for nonspecialist readers with no prior knowledge of scientific theories, appeared on the BritishSunday Times best-seller list for a record-breaking 4.5 years. It sold more than 20 million copies and was translated into 35 languages by 2001. One of his greatest unfulfilled desires was to travel to space; on hearing this,Richard Branson offered a free flight into space with Virgin Galactic, which Hawking immediately accepted.
Hawking was born in Oxford, England on the 300th anniversary ofGalileo's death and died on the 139th anniversary ofEinstein's birth. His private funeral took place on 31 March, in Cambridge. During a thanksgiving service on 15 June, his ashes will be interred in the nave ofWestminster Abbey next to the grave of SirIsaac Newton and near that ofCharles Darwin. Fifteen years before his death he directed that theBekenstein–Hawking entropy equation be his epitaph.–Kudpung(adapted froma Wikimedia blog post by Ed Erhart)
Making a total so far of just three new additions to the mop and bucket brigade for 2018, we welcome two new administrators:
Both RfA were nominated byRitchie333. On 1 April five editors were desysoped for inactivity.–Kudpung
Thenotability guideline for organizations and companies has been substantially rewritten and adopted by the closure ofthis request for comment. Among the changes, the guideline more clearly defines the sourcing requirements needed for organizations and companies to be considered notable.–Kudpung
Craig Franklin,user:Lankiveil, was a long-standing Irish-Australian Wikipedian who served as a board member (2011–2015) and president (2013) of Wikimedia Australia. Franklin joined Wikipedia on 12 August 2004 and became an administrator in August 2008. He also served as an oversighter for the English Wikipedia, a clerk for the Arbitration Committee, an OTRS volunteer, and as a member of theombudsman commission. In 14 years dedication to the project, never a month went by without an edit. He passed away unexpectedly on 15 April 2018, a day after his last edit.–Kudpung
For some reason the top photo reminds me of the lyrics to "Come together" [link not allowed]Smallbones(smalltalk)04:34, 26 April 2018 (UTC)[reply]
