Have you ever needed to see an improvement in the functionality of the Wiki software? Do you have an idea for a new tool to make the platforms more usable and functional? Should an existing tool be better? Maybe you want to support someone else’s idea for such an improvement? Participating in the Community Wishlist Survey is just the way to make that happen.
The Community Wishlist Survey is an annual survey that allows contributors to the Wikimedia projects to propose and vote for tools and platform improvements. If you don’t edit or are a new editor, don’t worry! You can take part, too. Just skip to the sections about the promotion and translations.
Would you like to propose a change?
When?
Between 10 and 23 January 2022
Who?
Wikimedians with registered accounts. It’s an ideal option for you if you have some editing experience.
What?
- Read the tutorial How to create a good proposal. This way, you’ll make sure your idea is likely to be accepted, voted on, and then worked on by the software developers.
- Go to the Proposals page and select a category your proposal is related to, and create a new proposal.
- Optional: Join the Talk to Us meeting on 19 January (Wednesday), 18:00 UTC on Zoom. Bring drafts of your proposals and talk to a member of the Community Tech team about your questions on how to improve the proposals.
There will be a discussion about each proposal. Don’t forget to take part in the discussion about the proposals you’ve submitted!
Vote on the best ideas you want to see built
When?
Between 28 January and 11 February 2022
Who?
All Wikimedians with registered accounts.
What?
Come vote on the proposals you think are the most critical when the voting window opens. Only “Support” votes count. You can vote on as many proposals as you want.
Help us to promote the Survey in your community
When?
Between 10 January and 11 February 2022
Who?
Anyone who knows the channels of communication of Wikimedia communities.
What?
- Share the Community Wishlist Survey visuals. Encourage anyone who has a registered account to take part. You are free to just share the visuals or even improve them and share your versions.
- Use our hashtags: #CommunityWishlistSurvey, #CWS2022, and/or #CWS.
You can encourage Wikimedians to just take a look at the Survey, propose changes, or even vote on specific proposals. A good-faith “get out the vote” campaign is okay! So is inviting colleagues active in Wikimedia affiliates if they have a registered account.
Why?
You probably know how to announce things to your community. This may be especially true on social media or other channels. The more communities are aware of and take part in the Survey, the better!
Translate the documentation and proposals
When?
Between 10 January and 11 February 2022
Who?
Anyone who speaks different languages and is familiar with the Wikimedia translation software.
What?
- Translate the most important messages
- (Between 17 January and 11 February) Translate the proposals
- Translate supplementary documentation
Why?
As we wrote, the more communities are aware of and take part in the Survey, the better. The Community Wishlist Survey documentation is primarily in English, and the proposals are in various but still single languages. To ensure good ideas are noticed across communities, they need to be translated.
More on the Community Wishlist Survey
Through the Survey, we can all identify the features and fixes that are most important to Wikimedia editors.
The Survey doesn’t determine all technical changes that will be happening. In the Wikimedia movement, there are many organizations and individuals who work on technical changes. There are volunteers, Wikimedia affiliates, and the Wikimedia Foundation. The Community Wishlist Survey is only a project of one organization, the Wikimedia Foundation. The Wikimedia Foundation has two departments working on technical projects: Product and Technology. In each department, there are many teams. The Community Wishlist Survey is only a project of one team, Community Tech.
We realise that participation, especially the task of submitting proposals, may be challenging. The Community Wishlist Survey is not designed for donors, readers, or new editors. But you don’t have to be a templates expert or have many years of experience as an editor either!
Some proposals may be categorized as “Suggestions” because the Community Tech team is only able to work on a fraction of the proposals. Don’t worry, though. The Wikimedia Foundation leadership will be informed about the issues you raise. Later, the suggestions may become executed projects.
Visit the Frequently Asked Questions to learn more.
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