Wikipedia:Wikipedia Signpost/2016-03-02/From the editors
One night in June 1852, while the Whig National Convention was going awry, American politician Alvan E. Bovay and newspaperman Horace Greeley dined at Lovejoy's Hotel in New York City, where Bovay first suggested the founding of what became the United States Republican Party. In 2016, with the improbable rise to frontrunner status of Donald Trump (#1 once again this week), its a safe bet that secret dinners are now being had by politicians foreseeing the end of that political party.
This week's Top 25 is dominated by political brawling, with Mr. Trump at the top, and physical brawling, with a number of wrestling-related entries down the chart starting with Fastlane (2016) at #7. Deadpool (film) (#2) rides high for another week as the most popular pop-culture entry.
For the full top-25 list, see WP:TOP25. See this section for an explanation of any exclusions. For a list of the most edited articles of the week, see here.
For the week of February 21 to 27, 2016, the ten most popular articles on Wikipedia, as determined from the report of the most viewed pages, were:
| Rank | Article | Class | Views | Image | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Donald Trump | 
|
1,938,436 |  |
Donald Trump is likely to be the Republican nominee in this year's United States presidential election, barring something crazy happening. He won the South Carolina primary on February 20, smashed his opponents in the February 23 Nevada primary, and won in 7 of 11 states on March 1's "Super Tuesday" primaries. |
| 2 | Deadpool (film) | 
|
1,340,113 |  |
Down from #1 and 2.8 million views last week. The Marvel Comics antihero film starring Ryan Reynolds (pictured) was released on February 12 to a stellar reception. Regarded as a risk by its makers 20th Century Fox, the film has earned over $600 million as of February 29. |
| 3 | O. J. Simpson |
|
980,872 |  |
As predicted by the co-author of this report (and not wished for by yours truly), the former football player, Leslie Nielsen costar and alleged murderer has become a fixture of this list, thanks to the first season of American Crime Story, the true-crime spinoff of American Horror Story, which focuses on his controversial trial. |
| 4 | Neerja Bhanot |
|
947,988 |  |
On September 5, 1986, just two days before her 23rd birthday, this Pan Am flight attendant was shot dead by terrorists affiliated with Abu Nidal as she spearheaded an escape from the hijacked Pan Am Flight 73 that ultimately saved over 300 lives. She was posthumously awarded India's highest peacetime bravery award, the Ashoka Chakra. Her life and death became the subject of a Bollywood biopic this week, Neerja, starring Sonam Kapoor (pictured) in the title role. Up from #10 and 800K views last week. |
| 5 | Deadpool |
|
797,094 | .jpg) |
Marvel may have disavowed their X-Men franchise until Fox gives it back to them, but their fourth wall-tickling, chimichanga-chomping, bullet-spraying loony toon obviously remains a potent force, whether they like it or not. Down from #3 and 1.7 million views last week. |
| 6 | Robert Kardashian | 
|
678,065 | The now-deceased patriarch of the mediavorous Kardashian clan was a close friend of O. J. Simpson (#3) and played a role in the controversial trial that engulfed American pop culture in the 1990s. Of course, the sudden resurgence of interest in the case following the premiere of American Crime Story had led the less scrupulous end of the media to dredge up colorful supposed links between it and the current generation. | |
| 7 | Fastlane (2016) |
|
664,591 |  |
Wrestler Roman Reigns prevailed in the main event at this professional wrestling event held in Cleveland, Ohio on February 21. |
| 8 | Fuller House (TV Series) |
|
659,077 |  |
This sequel series to the the 1987-95 American sitcom Full House debuted on Netflix February 26, 2016. Pictured is actress Candace Cameron Bure, one of the returning cast members. I hope historians of the future realize that the reason ridiculous TV shows could return after 20 years was because of the changing ways we watch TV, with on-demand, niche-driven options of channels like Netflix meeting needs no one could believe existed. To go back to a prior generation of silly TV, The Brady Bunch (1969-1974) milked all it could out of sequels and movies after its original run, but a complete sequel series after twenty years would not have been viable. |
| 9 | Melania Trump |
|
633,777 |  |
The Donald's wife has generally kept a lower profile on the campaign trail compared to Trump's children. But the recent growth of TV appearances and brief comments at podiums, feeding the apparently insatiable demand of the news-media for Trump news, puts Melania onto this chart for the first time. |
| 10 | Kesha | 
|
613,154 | .jpg) |
Interest in this singer's article started to rise on February 19, and remained popular through this week. This interest arises out of her recent loss of a sexual harassment lawsuit against music producer Dr. Luke (#25) seeking to void her contracts. |
Just missing the WP:TOP25: Love (TV series) (#26, new Netflix show); Ted Cruz (#27, if you can't make the Top 25, you're not going to be the nominee); Robert Shapiro (lawyer) (#28, more O.J.); The Walking Dead (season 6) (#29); and List of Bollywood films of 2016 (#30).
Wikipedia:Wikipedia Signpost/2016-03-02/In the media
Wikipedia:Wikipedia Signpost/2016-03-02/Technology report
Wikipedia:Wikipedia Signpost/2016-03-02/Essay
Wikipedia:Wikipedia Signpost/2016-03-02/Opinion
Following several days of closed-door meetings of the Wikimedia Foundation's Board of Trustees, executive director Lila Tretikov announced on February 25 that she would be stepping down, effective March 31. Despite rumors of tense negotiations with the Board, Tretikov's email announcement, titled "Thank you for our time together", was gracious and positive, stressing Foundation and community accomplishments. She wrote, in part:
| “ | Wikimedia occupies a special place in the world. It is a cultural and technological revolution. Change is necessary to keep it thriving. In bringing me in as the Executive Director of the Wikimedia Foundation the Board tasked me with making changes ("Lila Tretikov's statement on why we've changed") to serve the next generation and ensure our impact in the future. Driving these changes has been challenging, and I have always appreciated the open and honest discourse we have had along the way. ... |
” |
Tretikov's resignation comes after months of public controversy, including the removal of Board member James Heilman (Doc James), the resignation of newly appointed Board member Arnnon Geshuri following a community outcry, and revelations about the mysterious Knowledge Engine project. It follows an even longer period of internal turmoil that has prompted a series of employee departures—events that have mostly remained out of the public eye until recently.
Among WMF staffers, the news of Tretikov's departure was greeted with a sense of relief rather than glee, at least publicly. The February metrics and activities meeting, held only 15 minutes after Tretikov's announcement, was almost jubilant—not about her departure, but as though the staff felt they could celebrate their work and accomplishments, especially those concerning Wikipedia's 15th anniversary, without the pall of recent months cast over them. Those events were not entirely absent, however. A photograph of Siko Bouterse, a widely respected WMF staffer whose departure was one of the flashpoints for other employees, received a standing ovation.
Still, even after the ED's announcement, employee exits from the WMF continue. On March 4, the WMF announced that Boryana Dineva, VP of human resources who went on leave on February 9, will depart.
WMF strategy consultant brings background in crisis reputation management; Team behind popular WMF software put "on pause"
6 February 2017
Board unanimously appoints Katherine Maher as new WMF executive director; Wikimedia lawsuits in France and Germany
4 July 2016
Clarifications on status and compensation of outgoing executive directors Sue Gardner and Lila Tretikov
15 June 2016
Lila Tretikov a Young Global Leader; Wikipediocracy blog post sparks indefinite blocks
23 March 2016
Podcast #119: The Foundation and the departure of Lila Tretikov
16 March 2016
Jimmy Wales announced he would be visiting San Francisco from February 27 to March 2 to personally meet with WMF staffers. Wales also quietly filled Tretikov's place on the schedule for an already planned March 13 event with Board member Guy Kawasaki at SXSW Interactive.
Speculation remains about who will work with WMF employees as interim executive director now that Wales has left San Francisco. Due to the exodus of employees, few high-level staffers remain to assume that role, with the most likely possibilities being chief communications officer Katherine Maher and general counsel Geoff Brigham. Finding an external candidate in the longer term may be difficult given the negative press coverage following the resignations of Geshuri and Tretikov, on top of the need to find someone with unusual combination of skills to lead an extremely complex organization. In a move that Andrew Lih (Fuzheado) describes as "rather astonishing", in a surprise announcement, Trustee Alice Wiegand posted to the Wikimedia mailing list that:
| “ | the Board is aiming for a quick decision about the interim ED. ... The Board is not best suited to make a decision about the interim which can quickly be established and accepted in this situation. // Therefore the board empowers the entire C-level-team to come up with a solution for the interim question. We leave it up to them ... . The C-level-team needs some time to deliberate and decide. They will present their result to the board which has to vote on it. We plan to finalize until the end of next week. | ” |
Opinions on the wisdom of this approach have been divided; critics have condemned it as an abdication of responsibility by the Board, while others have welcomed it as an effort by the Board to be more responsive to staff concerns and input.
Also unresolved is the composition of the Board itself. On February 27, Heilman announced his willingness to resume his seat on the Board and his intention to run again in the next community election. Wales, who described Heilman's account of Board conflicts as "utter fucking bullshit" in January, responded by writing that should Heilman win another election "then I will support his joining the board". Wales reiterated his disagreement with Heilman about how they perceived the circumstances of the dismissal, but the facts leading up to it remain unknown.
Wikipedia:Wikipedia Signpost/2016-03-02/Serendipity
Wikipedia:Wikipedia Signpost/2016-03-02/Op-ed
Wikipedia:Wikipedia Signpost/2016-03-02/In focus
Wikipedia:Wikipedia Signpost/2016-03-02/Arbitration report
Wikipedia:Wikipedia Signpost/2016-03-02/Humour
