Wikipedia:WikipediaSignpost/About
 (talk·chat) |
|---|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Recent changes: main·talk |
|
|
AboutThe Signpost
The Signpostis a community-written and -edited online newspaper covering the English Wikipedia, itssister projects,theWikimedia Foundation,and the Wikimedia movement at large, currently published twice a month. Sinceits launch in 2005,there have been 703Signpostissues published, comprising 5615 articles, and 13688 pages total (4469 talk and 9219 non-talk).
The Signpostis produced by volunteers, and is independent of theWikimedia Foundationand other Wikimedia organizations. The original name of the newspaper wasThe Wikipedia Signpost;it was shortened to theThe Signpostin August 2010 as a symbol of an expansion in scope beyond the English Wikipedia. Ourstatement of purposeguides our efforts. Editorial decisions are made by the editorial board, composed of Wikimedia volunteers, and ultimately by the Editor in Chief.
Unlike most Wikipedia pages, eachSignpostarticle carries abylineto indicate its author, and is edited by at least one other team member. We welcome post-publication edits such as grammatical and spelling corrections to articles, subject to review by theSignpostteam; we value our readers' efforts to correct simple mistakes and provide needed clarifications. Anyone may submit articles; suggestions and news tips are welcomed on oursuggestions page.Aspiring contributors may wish to consult ourQuick start pageand ournewsroom.
Our readers have several options for subscription or notification of new issues, outlined on oursubscription page.
Statement of purpose
[edit]The magazine focuses on three things, broadly speaking:
- Inform:The primary purpose ofThe Signposthas always been to inform the community about events that affect and are affected by the Wikimedia movement. Though it was originally created topically an English Wikipedia–only publication, it has long since expanded its scope to cover the Wikimedia movement at large, a transformation symbolically completed by the2011 renamingofThe Wikipedia Signpostto justThe Signpost.The Signpostdoes notspecificallymaintain a commitment to neutrality in the same way that Wikipedia articles do, but the magazine is nonetheless known, and aims to serve, as a balanced and impartial news source—a recurring problem is the difficulty of representing consensus viewpoints in a critical lens. Its editors and contributors are expected to exercise good judgment at all times, and generally speaking reports usually include at least some mention of all major positions adopted by Wikimedians on the issues at stake.
- Entertain:A wish to entertain provides the incentive behind some of the publication's lighter-hearted features.The Signpostaims to be a quality online magazine, after all, and is not an encyclopedia itself, and so allows many things—editorializing, narrative, original research—that would be unacceptable in Wikipedia article space. It is worth emphasising, however, that unless there is good reason (and this is highlighted to the reader as a preface to a piece), writers always strive "to maintain [a level of] objectivity as would be appropriate for an independent media organization elsewhere" (inthe wordsofThe Signpostfounder Michael Snow).
- Publish:The Signpostis the best space available to present ideas, publish community research, and draw attention to a cause before both the English Wikipedia community and the Wikimedia movement more broadly. We are a community organized and executed publication reaching thousands of readers every month, attaining a readership—and an impact—for our publications that far exceeds any of the other, more disparate publication channels and newsletters maintained among the projects. TheWikimedia Foundation Blogis supposedly the most impactful channel of communication available to the movement—yet in our2015 readership surveywe found that a significant number of our readers did not know of the blog's existence, and that those that did usually foundThe Signpost'scontent more appealing.The Signpostas a platform is available foryou,our readers, to use. Have a project that you'd like to highlight? An issue that you'd like to bring to light? An essay you'd like to publish? Bring it to us and let us help you to make it known.The Signpostsolicits articles, op-eds, and special reports from the community, and publishes them subject to the approval of the editor(s)-in-chief. SeeHow to contributefor more details.
The Signpost team
[edit]
For more onThe Signpost's administration and the responsibilities of being a regular contributor, seeour coordination guidelines.
| EDITORIAL BOARD | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Editor-in-chief | JPxG | Editor-in-chief emeritus | Andreas Kolbe, Bri, Frostly, HaeB, Smallbones |
| Editors | Bluerasberry, Bri, Headbomb, Smallbones |
Copyeditors | Gerald Waldo Luis, Headbomb, isaacl, Adam Cuerden |
| Publication manager | JPxG | Outreach manager | HaeB(Twitter/Facebook announcements), Andreas Kolbe(Wikimedia-l, Hacker News) |
| WRITERS | |||
| Arbitration report | JPxG | Humour | Various |
| Discussion report | In the media | Various | |
| Featured content | Adam Cuerden | News and notes | Various |
| From the archives | Adam Cuerden | On the bright side | Help wanted! |
| Gallery | Various | Serendipity | Vysotsky |
| Recent research | HaeB(withMasssly) | Technology report | Help wanted! |
| Tips and tricks | Headbomb | Traffic report | TheTop 25 Reportteam |
| WikiProject report | Help wanted! | Features | PAC2 |
Editors in chief
[edit]
- Michael Snow(founder; January–August 2005)
- Ral315(August 2005–December 2008)
- Ragesoss(February 2009 –June 2010)
- HaeB(June 2010 –July 2011)
- Jarry1250(July–September 2011)
- SMastersandSkomorokh,alternating (September 2011–January 2012)
- Skomorokh(continuing untilApril 2012)
- The ed17(May 2012–January 2015)
- GamalielandGo Phightins!(January 2015–May 2016)
- Go Phightins!(continuing untilAugust 2016)
- Andreas Kolbe(May–November 2016)
- Pete Forsyth(August 2016– June 2017)
- The Signpostdid not publishinMarch, April, or May 2017.
- Evad37(June2017– March 2018)
- Bri(de facto/interim,March–April 2018, September 2018 – March 2019)
- Kudpung(April–August2018, December 2018)
- Smallbones(March 2019–April 2022)
- EpicPupperandJPxG(May 2022–October 2022)
- JPxG(continuingto present)
Technical information
[edit]Userboxes
[edit]
|
|
| ||||||
| {{User wikipedia/SignpostReader}} | {{User Signpost}} | {{User wikipedia/Signpost}} |
Barnstar
[edit]The Signposthas its own barnstar;feel free to award it to someone you think has done a significant amount of work in the project!
Just copy the following and add your own message.
{{subst:The Signpost Barnstar|1=Put your message here. ~~~~}}
|
TheSignpostBarnstar | |
| This user deserves recognition for their work onThe Signpost! | ||
| {{The Signpost Barnstar}} |
Social media
[edit]The Signpost has an actively maintained presence on