A possible good start would be to create Gadgets for VE/NWE.

Interesting. Are gadget developers (attending the Hackathon or not) being notified about this proposal?

In T159334#3217039, @Qgil wrote:

Interesting. Are gadget developers (attending the Hackathon or not) being notified about this proposal?

It is a featured project for the hackathon. Can we advertise it more?

This looks too big IMHO. What specifically would you advertise? The kind of project that gadget devs should learn about (to be actually able to get anything done in a short amount of time) looks more like "let's make gadgets for 2017WE, here's the docs, here are the people who can code with you", and I don't think there's anything like that ready.

In T159334#3217058, @Trizek-WMF wrote:

In T159334#3217039, @Qgil wrote:

Interesting. Are gadget developers (attending the Hackathon or not) being notified about this proposal?

It is a featured project for the hackathon. Can we advertise it more?

Most likely by next week, we'll have a list of featured projects up on the event wiki. We'll then start promoting them to the hackathon participants, ask folks to express their interest in a project, and let us know what help they might need. Gadgethon sounds like a cool idea, we could definitely highlight it separately and this task could then be a part of it.

In T159334#3217058, @Trizek-WMF wrote:

It is a featured project for the hackathon. Can we advertise it more?

Creating a Central Gadget Taskforce sounds like an effort that would require a discussion online first, lead by gadget developers. If that doesn't work, then ok, it is possible to propose a session at the Hackathon and see who shows up and whether there is critical mass.

I am not sure how to advertise this proposal to gadget developers. It would be easier if there would be a central repository of gadgets. ;)

In T159334#3219200, @Qgil wrote:

In T159334#3217058, @Trizek-WMF wrote:

It is a featured project for the hackathon. Can we advertise it more?

Creating a Central Gadget Taskforce sounds like an effort that would require a discussion online first, lead by gadget developers. If that doesn't work, then ok, it is possible to propose a session at the Hackathon and see who shows up and whether there is critical mass.

I think the opposite can be done: have a group of volunteers to define a way to create a central repository, and the ask gadgets/templates creators to challenge it. It may go faster.

I am not sure how to advertise this proposal to gadget developers. It would be easier if there would be a central repository of gadgets. ;)

Haha! The various Javascript Projects are a good first step. I'll send them messages.

Hello! Just letting you know that you can schedule this session now for the hackathon. Instructions and scheduling can be done here:
https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Hackathon_2017/Program#How_to_schedule_breakout_sessions

Hackathon Etherpad: https://etherpad.wikimedia.org/p/Hack17GadgetTaskforce

11 attendees.

Relevant: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Tool_Developers_Group

In T159334#3298477, @Trizek-WMF wrote:

I'm reopening the task, to track the wrap-up on the hackathon' session and define the next steps for the taskforce.

@Trizek-WMF: Does somebody plan to drive discussing / defining the next steps?

In T159334#3354162, @Aklapper wrote:

In T159334#3298477, @Trizek-WMF wrote:

I'm reopening the task, to track the wrap-up on the hackathon' session and define the next steps for the taskforce.

@Trizek-WMF: Does somebody plan to drive discussing / defining the next steps?

Yes, me. I've just been too busy to work on this this week.

Thanks for the summary, @Trizek-WMF.

A few more points from the conversation we had:

• To help people remain as close as possible to editing templates locally on the wikis, the people who maintain the templates and have sysop or similar permissions, will be fast-tracked to getting +2 in the relevant repos.
• Having this maintained as actual extension will have several advantages:
  • Localization in translatewiki.net
  • Easy installation process on any MediaWiki site.
• Another next step is to find templates that would be relevant for such conversion:
  • Easier:
    • Language templates, such as {{lang-*}} in the English Wikipedia (see T166971) are fairly simple and ubiquitous.
    • Unit conversion (miles / kilometers, grams / ounces, etc.)
    • Coordinates.
    • Authority Control
  • Harder:
    • Infoboxes.
    • Citations.

Thank you for the additional points, @Amire80. They were not on the Etherpad, and I didn't recall everything.

Does this "central taskforce" have an info page beyond this task?

I also wonder whether this is related to @bd808's attempts to push Special Interest Groups (T164551: RfC: Adopt governance guidelines for Special Interest Groups (SIG))

In T159334#3363491, @Qgil wrote:

Does this "central taskforce" have an info page beyond this task?

Not yet. This is included in the "draft best practices" I was mentioning.

I also wonder whether this is related to @bd808's attempts to push Special Interest Groups (T164551: RfC: Adopt governance guidelines for Special Interest Groups (SIG))

In T159334#3363491, @Qgil wrote:

I also wonder whether this is related to @bd808's attempts to push Special Interest Groups (T164551: RfC: Adopt governance guidelines for Special Interest Groups (SIG))

I think this could be a SIG if that model sounds useful to the organizers/members. I still need to write up my strawdog proposal of what being a SIG means on the linked task though which makes promoting the idea harder...

Some follow-up:

• https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Which_templates_should_be_global
• https://lists.wikimedia.org/pipermail/wikidata/2017-June/010885.html

Hello, I was talking to @0x010C about this today during T181381. If more of you consider this is worth discussing/working during WMHack 2018, we can add the corresponding tag to this task or create another task listed to this.