clean up notes from the pad
Background
Participants discussed efforts to formalize the OpenRefine–Wikimedia community connection
- Creating an OpenRefine Wikimedia Group
- Public group notes: Running Notes - Wikimedia Group planning
A previous attempt to obtain support from Wikimedia was unsuccessful (Grant Opportunity: Wikimedia Community Fund:), partly due to a shift in priorities on the Wikimedia side. However, OpenRefine already has a larger user community than some Wikimedia affiliates that have received support, so formalizing the group could still be promising.
The recognition process for new Wikimedia groups is currently paused. Work on this initiative continues so that the community is ready if and when the process resumes (reported in the chat as paused until March 31, 2026).
Formalizing the group could also help strengthen collaboration between the OpenRefine and Wikimedia communities and support wider adoption of OpenRefine.
Collaboration challenges
Work at the intersection of OpenRefine and Wikimedia often requires knowledge of both ecosystems. For example, addressing an issue in the Commons extension requires familiarity with both OpenRefine and Wikimedia Commons workflows. At the same time, OpenRefine is recognized as a safe contribution tool for Wikimedia projects, and the group aims to provide continued support for Wikimedia-related workflows in OpenRefine.
Surfacing and routing issues
Participants discussed where users should report issues or ask questions. One challenge is that users may not know whether a problem relates to:
- OpenRefine
- a Wikimedia project
- a specific extension
- a particular workflow
The OpenRefine forum was seen as a useful entry point where questions can be asked and then routed to the appropriate place. Double-posting across platforms can also be acceptable, since it helps surface issues to the relevant communities. Other places where support questions appear include:
- Telegram groups
- Wikidata community channels
- GitHub repositories
A key question is how to collect and preserve knowledge when discussions happen across many platforms.
Ownership and maintenance of tools
Some tools used at the intersection of OpenRefine and Wikimedia do not currently have clear ownership.
Examples mentioned:
- Wikimedia reconciliation service: currently maintained informally by Antonin
- Commons extension: no official maintainer; Albin has been helping maintain it, including updates related to user-agent issues
- Wikibase extension: discussion about moving it to a separate repository: Move Wikibase extension to its own repository · Issue #5282 · OpenRefine/OpenRefine · GitHub
For comparison, some reconciliation services (such as Getty) are maintained directly by the organization that provides the data.
Community support model
Participants discussed the possibility of building a broader support model where:
- General questions can be answered by many community members
- More complex questions can be addressed by experienced contributors
- Very complex issues may require developer involvement
The forum should remain a friendly entry point where users feel comfortable asking questions.
The group also discussed encouraging a stronger sense of ownership within the Wikimedia community for tools connected to Wikimedia workflows.
Extension communication
One idea raised was providing a short template or questionnaire for extension maintainers, including information such as:
- where users should ask questions
- whether issues should be reported on GitHub, the forum, or elsewhere
- who to contact for support
The forum could act as a routing point for questions, helping users find the appropriate place to continue the discussion.
Connecting with Wikimedia groups
A question raised during the session was how the OpenRefine community can reach out to Wikimedia user groups when feedback or attention is needed.
Participants suggested:
- tagging relevant community members in forum discussions or GitHub issues
- identifying contact points within the Wikimedia user group
Srihari suggested tagging members of the Wikimedia user group directly when appropriate.
Related community page: Wikimedians for software freedom - Meta-Wiki