What's making you happy this month?: A selection of good news and encouraging stories from the Wikiverse.
The content of this Signpost piece is adapted from email threads titled "What's making you happy this week?" that are sent to Wikimedia-l.
We encourage you to add your comments about what's making you happy this month to the talk page of this Signpost piece.
What's making you happy this week? is returning after an unplanned pause that was due to off-wiki events. User:Clovermoss and I agreed that we will try to alternate weeks writing this publication.
The Commons picture of the day for 1 March 2020 is of a hermitage, named Ermita del Santo Cristo de Miranda, which is located in Spain. I think that everyone should sometimes get a break for personal refreshment, such as by curling up in a chair with a book, going on a vacation or retreat, or pursuing a hobby.
A hobby that I enjoy is music. Here is a video clip from Star Trek: Voyager in which the ship's doctor and the character Seven of Nine sing a duet. This happens during a story line in which the Doctor gives Seven advice regarding romance. They sing an American English folk song, "You are my sunshine", which seems appropriate for this Signpost piece with the title "On the bright side": YouTube link.
There is a lot that is making me happy this week. I'm happy that I'm back to contributing to "On The Bright Side" and the What's Making You Happy This Week? threads again because it's something I look forward to. It's nice to think and reflect upon the positivity across the Wikimedia movement.
This week, I read an interesting article from Wired entitled "Wikipedia Is The Last Best Place On The Internet". A link to the article can be found here: [1]. I really enjoyed reading this, and I agree that Wikipedia really has come a long way since 2007. The extent of Wikipedia's influence has grown considerably and has had such an impact on the world today that I really couldn't even imagine what the world would be like without it.
I am looking forward to the start of the Wikigap Challenge, which is taking place on March 8 through April 8, 2020. This challenge is receiving help from the UN Human Rights Office which is incredible and not something that happens everyday. However, it seems like there's always something interesting going on when I check Wikimedia-l, and that's thanks to the dedicated efforts of countless editors.
Preface
Mindful of the ongoing 2019–20 coronavirus pandemic, the tone of this week's email is more somber than some emails of the past. Let us hope that public health actions being taken in many places throughout the world are effective at "flattening the curve", so that health care systems are able to manage the peak number of people who are simultaneously in need of health services.
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More good press for English Wikipedia from Wired
A couple of quotes from the latter article:
Recognitions from the Affiliations Committee
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There's been a lot that's made me happy this week. However, I realize that right now is a difficult time for a lot of people. Before I write about anything else, I would like to thank the real world heroes out there. I think that no words can accurately describe the cumulative effort and sacrifices that so many people are making everyday. I would especially like to thank doctors, nurses, and other medical professionals. I would like to thank people who provide shelter and food to other people in need. I want to thank the countless parents that are doing everything they can. I want to thank caregivers for what they do everyday. I extend my sympathies to anyone who is going through a really difficult time right now, because so many people are facing struggles that I can't even begin to imagine.
Sometimes, it's the small and seemingly inconsequential moments that can really matter. For me, that's been doing my best to do what I can. Living in those moments of joy where I find them. This week, that involved lots of oatmeal and tea, taking a brief walk outside to feel the wind, and reading for hours on end. I have also listened to music. If anyone is curious, I absolutely adore this song from The Sound of Music. I think I gravitated towards it because even though life can be scary sometimes, remembering your favourite things can help get you through that.
I've also spent time on Wikipedia, and there are a lot of good things happening on-wiki. There's a new WikiProject dedicated to Wikipedia's coverage of COVID-19 and the ongoing pandemic: WikiProject COVID-19. There are so many editors actively contributing there, and it's heartwarming to see this kind of intense collaboration and dedication. The ramifications of these actions have a very real impact on the real world. It's amazing that so many people are doing their best to help others. I'm thankful for that, and to everyone who tries to make the world a better place.
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I would like to express gratitude to people who, instead of running away from the 2019–20 coronavirus pandemic, are "running toward the fire", especially people who voluntarily accept personal risks. This includes many health care workers and people who have other public service roles including civil protection volunteers, journalists, firefighters, security personnel, and people who provide other essential services such as in food banks, homeless shelters, nursery schools, public utilities, and transportation. I am thankful for their courage and sacrifices. Also, I am thankful for the many people who are sharing and publishing information for public benefit, including on Wikimedia projects, the Internet Archive, and OpenStreetMap.
Special thanks to User:Bdgzczy, who started the article on English Wikipedia regarding the pandemic; to User:Universehk who started the article on Chinese Wikipedia; and to Chinese doctors Ai Fen (艾芬) and Li Wenliang (李文亮), who gave other doctors early warnings about the virus.
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Once again, I would like to express my sympathies. There are so many people going through so much right now. It's difficult to write words that can even begin to describe it all.
COVID-19 has impacted so many aspects of everyday life. Many people are relying on Wikipedia for reliable and accurate information, and the 2019–20 coronavirus pandemic article receives more than a million pageviews daily. As of the time of writing this, there are 597 articles within the scope of WikiProject COVID-19. There is an article about the outbreak in 110 languages, which collectively have received more than 34.9 million pageviews.[2] Editors from across the world are collaborating together to make Wikipedia a better place, and that is something I am incredibly thankful for.
I'm also thankful for all the people who are supporting others. The everyday heroes of our world: healthcare workers, parents, caregivers, volunteers, and countless others. Thank you for making the world a better place.
Skillful translations of the sentence "What's making you happy this week?" would be very much appreciated. If you see any inaccuracies in the translations in this article then please {{ping}} User:Pine or User:Clovermoss in the discussion section of this page, or boldly make the correction to the text of the article. Thank you to everyone who has helped with translations so far.
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