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While updating issue 21:10 with "AI slop" critiques, I stumbled across some AI slop: "Wikipedia Page Creation Expert: How Sangode Oloruntoba Samson (Samson Expert) [new line, smaller font] Helping Influencers and Startups Build Digital Authority". I hope this isn't what we have to look forward to. ☆ Bri (talk) 22:12, 7 August 2025 (UTC)[reply]

@Bri: I've added that story to ITM, leaving out the links (so as not to give the guy an advert). Yes, it does look like a horrible way to write an encyclopedia, but unfortuneately will will have to deal with this. Smallbones_(smalltalk) 11:44, 15 August 2025 (UTC)[reply]

See Wikipedia:Wikipedia_Signpost/Next_issue/In_the_media#All_hail_Grnrchst_and_The_Signpost!

@Grnrchst: Congrats on the Ars Technica write up of your article [1] from the last issue! I've started a top section write up in ITM. It's always nice when the mainstream media picks up a Signpost story! My take on this is that it is very complimentary to Grnrchst and very well-written (by Nate Anderson, the Deputy Editor, who is not the Nathan Anderson I had a story about). He had the easy job, you had to do and explain all the research. A 2 line (or whatever) quote from you would be nice for ITM. Smallbones_(smalltalk) 11:44, 15 August 2025 (UTC)[reply]

@Smallbones: Thanks for the ping. What would you like the quote to be about? The Ars Technica article, the story itself or something else? --Grnrchst (talk) 11:57, 15 August 2025 (UTC)[reply]

@Grnrchst:. About the Ars Technica article, or "the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat", or "Who is that guy?" or What your mother thought of the article? Or thank Bri for his copy editing. Think of this as the closest you'll get to making an Oscar acceptance speech! Don't worry - we can edit it! Smallbones_(smalltalk) 18:08, 15 August 2025 (UTC)[reply]

I'm not sure I could fit "the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat" into a wee quote, that'd be more of an essay for me. I'll give it a think over. --Grnrchst (talk) 22:04, 15 August 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Checklist

I've started a rudimentary article on the WMF's loss (though they view it as a partial win) in the Online Safety Act case. Sources:

• https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cjr11qqvvwlo
• https://wikimediafoundation.org/news/2025/08/11/wikimedia-foundation-challenges-uk-online-safety-act-regulations/

I have a lot on my plate at the moment ... any help welcome. --Andreas JN466 11:11, 27 August 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Have you seen this? The Hill Liz ^{Read! Talk!} 23:48, 27 August 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Checklist

As usual, we are preparing this regular survey on recent academic research about Wikipedia, doubling as the Wikimedia Research Newsletter (now in its fifteenth volume). Help is welcome to review or summarize the many interesting items listed here, as are suggestions of other new research papers that haven't been covered yet. Regards, HaeB (talk) 06:10, 20 August 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Checklist

Checklist

The table of contents illustration ("piccy") is AI generated but has a cc-by license attached. AFAIK the AI generated stuff is all public domain in the United States, there has to be a human author to receive a copyright and to grant license rights. Don't know if this is worth doing anything about but since we display the license on the TOC, we are kind of perpetuating a bad license in my opinion. ☆ Bri (talk) 18:25, 25 August 2025 (UTC)[reply]

For reference: File:Bot pic IA.png. The uploader already double-licensed it as PD-algorithm, so there should be no issue with changing the piccy attribution accordingly.

The bigger issue IMHO is why this should be considered an adequate illustration at all for the entry ChatGPT in the traffic report. Why is the robot wearing a MediaWiki t-shirt? CCing User:Igordebraga who had added it to Wikipedia:Top 25 Report/July 20 to 26, 2025. Regards, HaeB (talk) 00:41, 26 August 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Why would it be inadequate? Image was on the ChatGPT category on Commons, it was presumably made through it. A robot wearing a MediaWiki shirt seemed a good way to illustrate an entry about the chatbot's Wikipedia page (if only to have fun with it). igordebraga ≠ 01:34, 26 August 2025 (UTC)[reply]

@HaeB: can you help me understand how multi-licensing works on Commons? Is it supposed to imply that re-use or distribution can occur under the distributor's preferred license, presumably the less restrictive? ☆ Bri (talk) 05:48, 26 August 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Pretty much, yes, see also c:Commons:Multi-licensing.

(Btw, this is a straightforward consequence of the basic legal meaning of license as a permission to do something. Unfortunately there seems to be a widespread misunderstanding where a lot of people (Wikimedians included sometimes - not saying present company, but e.g. in the 2023 WMF ToU update discussion this was quite present) seem to think that e.g. a CC BY-SA license introduces restrictions - "now that I have put CC BY-SA 4.0 on my content, the people who reuse it will be required to attribute it and share derivative works under the same license" or such; overlooking that without a license, reuse was not allowed in the first place.)

Regards, HaeB (talk) 06:19, 26 August 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Hmm, I am not a lawyer but wouldn't cc-0 be more appropriate for a multi-license scenario? PD means "I never had any rights to this in the first place", which seems at odd with the Commons licenses which say "here are the rights to my work which I am granting to you". In other words: I still don’t see how a PD claim, label, or template is compatible with any licensing. In other, other words: it seems that any license is illogical once something is determined to be in the public domain. However this may be a case where the variance in copyright for AI gen images for the U.S. and other countries comes into play. ☆ Bri (talk) 14:15, 26 August 2025 (UTC)[reply]

CC-0 isn't "I never had any rights to this" but rather "I release this without restrictions on reuse, attribution, commercialization etc...". It is effectively releasing your work directly into public domain. Headbomb {t · c · p · b} 22:10, 26 August 2025 (UTC)[reply]