User:Yug/Graphic Labs accross Wikimedia

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• Title: Graphic Lab accross Wikimedia.
• Abstract content:

Following my experience as active wikipedian and leading contributor in the creation and organisation of several kind of Graphic Labs, we will see how to set up, raise contributions, and use the Wikipedian community as a source of skilled graphist working for the community needs: add profesionnal illustrations to wikipedia's articles.

All started by the constatation that an user made a really nice clean up on the French Wikipedia, and by the other view that so many images have amator looking in articles. Most of time, this bad images can be easily improve by quick clean up such up the light, clean up the background or by removing an unneed object. The french Graphic Lab was set up by this ideas : some users have graphist abilities, but don't know what to clean up. Then, others (who may called "Images hunters") can submit them some easely improvable images.
This forum system worked fine, and get a notable success on the basis of its Forum shape, which is more friendly and which allow cross help between graphists. But in the first year of work, he appeared some difficulties :

• The active wikigraphists improved the project page so much, that the page became un-friendly for new users, new graphists and to potential images hunters;
• the fact that wikigraphist may improve as much images as they come. And so, presence of Images Hunters is determinant : we do 90% of the work that is submit to us;
• the works was quickly divide into : work of mapmaking on one side ; work of easy clean-ups and huge works in the other side.

We avoid this difficulties by going back to an easier wiki-syntaxe; by adversing as much as possible about the existance of the Graphic Lab (user box; Welcome template; community page; template on already modified images) to raise new Images Hunters and wikigraphists as well ; and we divided the Project into one Map Lab, and one Images-to-Improve Lab.
It is also important to notice that the first month of the project were especially criticals, with a constant need to overview and to dynamised the project. The leader of such openning Graphic Lab, since nobody know how this place work and what are the need, have the triple reaponsability of : make an active images hunting ; to train new volunters ; and to make huge adversing everywhere he/she can. This 3 points are really important. The aftermath of this, is that over than 1.000 images were improved, cleaned-up, translated, totaly create by the french wikigraphist team only. More than 600 were images improvement or creation requests, while more than 400 were maps creation or translation requests. The Map Lab was especially interesting on the fact that he set up standards for maps on the french wikipedia (fr:Aide:Cartographie).

• Summary: Detailed description of your submission (300 words or more). May contain a link to a more details on line.
• Presentation type: presentation of 10 to 20 min
• Primary authors: hugo.lpzgmail.com.
• Track classification: ?? Choose the best track for your submission.
• Comments: Include additional information here:

• The presentator will be Hugo LOPEZ, know as Yug. He is a 23 french student in History and Chinese. He is administrator on Wikipedia Fr, where he launched the Atelier Graphic in 2005. He is also the de-facto leader of the CJK stroke order project, on Commons, where he is also admin to overview this project. He currently also support the Ancient Chinese chracters project and try to set up a Graphic Lab on commons.
• Language : English, but that will be difficult (I write better than I speak)
• Public : All wikipedians, but wikipedia with graphix abilities will be more sensible.
• Abilities need : Editing abilities, and is possible graphism abilities
• Length : currently unknow, about 20 min.
• Attend to Wikimania : (b) probably + (d) get further funding is welcome.
• BoF proposals should describe the significance of and community interest in the topic, and name the proposed discussion leader(s).
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