Wikimania 2025

Dorothy Howard (User:Hexatekin)

Dorothy Howard has worn multiple hats as a community organizer, open knowledge advocate, and researcher. She was formerly a Wikipedian-in-Residence at the Metropolitan New York Library Council in 2013-2014. She was a Program Officer at WikiConference USA, 2014. She was an early Wikipedia community advisor/curricula developer/organizer for Art + Feminism, 2014-2015. She has also done some academic research reflecting on participating in the Wikimedia community as a gender and diversity advocate and subject of numerous research studies about Wikipedians. She was Administrative Executive for the Queering Wikipedia 2023 virtual conference.


Session

08-07
15:00
25min
Handling reports of code of conduct violations in Wikimedia movement groups and organizations
Dorothy Howard (User:Hexatekin)

This talk will focus on presenting a system we have created that can be adapted for Wikimedia community groups to enforce the Universal Code of Conduct when reports of violations arise. The “dispute protocol” is openly licensed to be adapted by self-governed communities such as Wikimedia Affiliates. In the talk, we will discuss why it’s important for decentralized communities to establish transparent procedures for deliberating on reports and mediation. Without structures to deliberate on reports, community risks include breaches of confidentiality and a lack of trust in organizers commitments to upholding safe spaces. We will present how community leaders can adapt the system we have created to build processes for locally enforcing the UCoC when reports arise. The audience for this talk includes organizers of Affiliates and other in person, hybrid, or virtual meetup groups which might benefit from clarifying procedures for responding to issue reports.

Community Health
NYERI (Meeting room 6)