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{{Short description|Former Misplaced Pages project}}
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<noinclude><!-- Please don't remove the noinclude tags around the content. They prevent the whole page from being transcluded when viewing histories of project subpages.-->
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{{redirect|WP:ESP|semi-protected edit requests|CAT:ESP}}
⚫ '''Esperanza''' or '''Esperanza Association''' is a newly formed association of Wikipedians dedicated to strengthening Misplaced Pages's sense of community through establishing a support network for Wikipedians in an environment that is often hostile and apathetic. Esperanza takes its name from the ] for ''hope'' in the spirit of offering hope to Wikipedians who feel isolated and ignored. Spanish is used in the hope that a segment of the Misplaced Pages community will never again feel so isolated that it breaks away from the community as did a portion of the Spanish Misplaced Pages community to form ].
{{mbox|image=none|text=]'''This project is officially inactive''' as a result of ]. Some of the former Esperanza projects are now functioning as (or have been replaced by) independent projects:{{pb}}
* ], supersedes Collaboration of the Month and the later Article Creation and Improvement Drive
* ], a successor to Esperanza's coffee lounge
* Several replacements for Esperanza's outreach efforts:
** ], for new users
** ], for reaching out to editors with nice messages
** ], for more of that, including barnstar awards
* ]: now part of the ]
* To-do lists have been decentralized: ] for user and article talk pages; ] for WikiProjects
* ]
* <s>]</s> (inactive; community response to this at ] was generally negative)
* <s>]</s> (inactive, effectively replaced by much of the above)
* <s>]</s> (inactive, effectively replaced by much of the above, though its templates remain popular on user pages)
* <s>]</s> (inactive)
}}
{{Nutshell|This page serves as a notice to all editors that existing projects must be open and transparent to all editors at all times, not to be overly hierarchical lest they meet a fate similar to that of Esperanza.}}


{| style="background:inherit;"
==General philosophy==
| style="vertical-align:top;text-align:justify;" |
One of Misplaced Pages's greatest problems is that it has become so large so quickly. Its phenomenal growth is something we can all be proud of, but it has put great strain on the community. The goal of Esperanza is simple, match those who desire help with those who offer it, or even both. Being a smaller community, we can better address and recognize the needs of our membership than the greater en.wikipedia community of around 1,000 regular contributors.
]
Many users' problems go unsolved because wikipedia provides no way for some problems to be addressed in a public forum and because of that many Wikipedians' problems go unsolved. For example, some Wikipedians may be bogged down in tasks that they do not particularly enjoy but feel obligated to continue. Esperanza specializes in this, solving the unique problems individual Wikipedians encounter. Esperanza does not resolve user conflicts or POV issues, and will not accept requests to do so.
|}
'''Esperanza''' was a Misplaced Pages project founded on ]. Its goals were to support the encyclopedia indirectly by encouraging a sense of community. It was the belief of Esperanza that a friendly, supportive community within Misplaced Pages would help the encyclopedia by keeping editors happy, productive, and on the project. The name is derived from the Spanish word for "hope" and the original goal was to offer hope for the Misplaced Pages community and bring it together. When proposing the association, the founder wrote the following:


<blockquote>
==Provisional and future government==
⚫ '''Esperanza''' or '''Esperanza Association''' is a proposed association of wikipedians dedicated to strengthening wikipedia's sense of community through establishing a support network for wikipedians in an environment that is often hostile and apathetic. Esperanza takes its name from the ] for hope. We have taken this name the in spirit of offering hope to wikipedians who feel isolated and ignored. Spanish is used in the hope that a segment of the wikipedia community will never again feel so isolated that it breaks away from the community as did a portion of the Spanish wikipedia community did to form ].
Esperanza is a growing association, we expect to soon reach a size where a minimal system of organizational governance will be required. While it may be necessary to delegate some authority, it still needs to be readily accessible.
</blockquote>
A body representing not less than 10% ten and no more than 20% of the membership, elected to staggered four month terms, will serve as Esperanza's guiding body. An administrator general will be elected by this body to coordinate Esperanza and may be granted additional responsibilities.


Towards those goals, Esperanza attempted a number of initiatives, such as:
Until membership passes fifty, a provisional government consisting of the first fifteen members will exist. In the mean time please add yourself to the general membership section. A more inclusive government will be included in Esperanza's charter which is currently being drafted by a committee (consisting of JCarriker, and two others whose names will be released once they have formally accepted their positions), and after ratification by the provisonal goverment will come into effect.


* A '''stress alerts''' page that would alert Esperanza if someone was ill or feeling highly stressed due to issues on Misplaced Pages or in real life, or if someone left Misplaced Pages.
== Possible programs ==
* '''Stressbusters''', which investigated the source of wikistress.
Feeling unappreciated is a major factor in many users decision to leave Misplaced Pages. Esperanza seeks to recognize users by highlighting them for a featured Wikipedian of the week. Wikipedian of the week would get its own section on this particular page, rather than the ] as has been suggested. We'll probably template this. The template will be unprotected until the week it is up, enabling all members to work on it, but once it is up it will be protected to avoid vandalism. We will probably run a poll (i.e. after we get 50 members and those two people JCarriker has mentioned have formally accepted...) Over whether or not to have such a thing.
* '''Reach Out''', which provided consoling.
* '''Admin Coaching''', where newcomers could get assistance from Misplaced Pages administrators.
* '''Tutorial Drive''', which aimed to write a series of tutorials for using and editing Misplaced Pages
* A '''calendar''' for members to list their birthday, first-edit day, etc. Esperanza tried to send out birthday wishes to Wikipedians.
* The '''to-do list'''.
* The '''coffee lounge''' for casual discussion.
* The '''Barnstar Brigade''' which gave out barnstars to users for good work.
* The '''User page awards''' for well-designed user pages.
* '''Trading Spaces''', where Wikipedians could request help for designing their user page.


Some of these programs survive as independent projects.
== Tentative members list ==

===Provisional government members===
Esperanza was governed by a charter, which stipulated an Advisory Council with staggered terms (two tranches), as well as an Administrator General who was selected by the council two times a year to lead the project. The Administrator General made binding decisions about Esperanza on ]. Amendments to the charter could be made through week-long discussions held on ]. This was criticized as being heavily bureaucratic and counter to the open and transparent spirit of a wiki; Misplaced Pages is ].
Please remove yourself if you are not willing to serve.

#] (])
Esperanza was first ] in November 2006. Critics of the group argued that Esperanza distracted people from contributing to the encyclopedia proper by providing an environment for social interaction. Esperanza was also criticized for having regular Council elections, which were seen as nothing more than popularity contests. Following a no consensus result in the first motion to delete Esperanza, the organization engaged in a series of reforms, which resulted in the deletion of the coffee lounge, the user page awards, Stressbusters and the Barnstar Brigade. The group also attempted to promote participation in the article ] by creating an Esperanza Collaboration of the Month. While most of the reform discussions ultimately reached a consensus, the overhaul discussions related to Esperanza's goals, its charter, its governance, what constitutes membership, and the noticeboard weren't completed.
#]]

#]
A month later, Esperanza was once again ]. Noted complaints against the organization included:
#] ]
*The overhaul proved to be unsuccessful in reforming Esperanza as a whole. The participants in the discussions promised to fix Esperanza: this, however, was felt to be done purely to avoid deletion, and not out of conviction. Little reform took place.
#] (always willing to help the needy)
*In addition, its members also believed that Misplaced Pages depended wholly upon the existence of Esperanza, and would break down without it.
#]
*Likewise, there had been other comments that Wikipedians who were not members of Esperanza were treated as inferior by those who were. Officially, members and non-members alike were invited to participate in Esperanza's programs; in practice, non-members had been set apart through Esperanza's activities, such as the ''Esperanza'' Collaboration of the Month.
#]
* Esperanza was governed by an elected "Advisory Council", whose goal was to discuss any major issues that would affect the organization as a whole. The bureaucracy of this is anti-Misplaced Pages; the council made binding decisions through off-wiki conversations on ] which were only made available after the event. Although these decisions could be overturned by the general Esperanza community via ], this decision-making process did not follow Misplaced Pages's ].
#]
* Esperanza was a nice idea but impossible to implement; additionally, a large project isn't needed to spread hope and good cheer.
#]

#]
After long discussion, it was ultimately decided that Esperanza was to be decentralized and disbanded; see ] for a list of now-independent projects. Other pages about Esperanza themselves were redirected to this page, which was replaced with the summary above.
#] ] (if you'll have me)

#]
More debates followed on various pages in the Misplaced Pages namespace, including on a ] filed to review aspects of the MfD closure. The closing admin declared the consensus to be that the original MfD decision was endorsed.
#] (])

#] ]
==See also==
#]
* ]
<!--Note: Do not add yourself to this list, it has been completed for now. -Red-->
* ]
===General membership===
* ]
<!--Remember to have yourself alphabetized with the other users! -Red-->

#
]
#
]
#
</noinclude>

Latest revision as of 14:40, 3 October 2022

Former Misplaced Pages project "WP:ESP" redirects here. For semi-protected edit requests, see CAT:ESP.
This project is officially inactive as a result of this Miscellany for Deletion discussion. Some of the former Esperanza projects are now functioning as (or have been replaced by) independent projects:
This page in a nutshell: This page serves as a notice to all editors that existing projects must be open and transparent to all editors at all times, not to be overly hierarchical lest they meet a fate similar to that of Esperanza.
Esperanza's logo was a joint effort by multiple Wikipedians.

Esperanza was a Misplaced Pages project founded on 12 August 2005. Its goals were to support the encyclopedia indirectly by encouraging a sense of community. It was the belief of Esperanza that a friendly, supportive community within Misplaced Pages would help the encyclopedia by keeping editors happy, productive, and on the project. The name is derived from the Spanish word for "hope" and the original goal was to offer hope for the Misplaced Pages community and bring it together. When proposing the association, the founder wrote the following:

Esperanza or Esperanza Association is a proposed association of wikipedians dedicated to strengthening wikipedia's sense of community through establishing a support network for wikipedians in an environment that is often hostile and apathetic. Esperanza takes its name from the Spanish word for hope. We have taken this name the in spirit of offering hope to wikipedians who feel isolated and ignored. Spanish is used in the hope that a segment of the wikipedia community will never again feel so isolated that it breaks away from the community as did a portion of the Spanish wikipedia community did to form Enciclopedia Libre.

Towards those goals, Esperanza attempted a number of initiatives, such as:

  • A stress alerts page that would alert Esperanza if someone was ill or feeling highly stressed due to issues on Misplaced Pages or in real life, or if someone left Misplaced Pages.
  • Stressbusters, which investigated the source of wikistress.
  • Reach Out, which provided consoling.
  • Admin Coaching, where newcomers could get assistance from Misplaced Pages administrators.
  • Tutorial Drive, which aimed to write a series of tutorials for using and editing Misplaced Pages
  • A calendar for members to list their birthday, first-edit day, etc. Esperanza tried to send out birthday wishes to Wikipedians.
  • The to-do list.
  • The coffee lounge for casual discussion.
  • The Barnstar Brigade which gave out barnstars to users for good work.
  • The User page awards for well-designed user pages.
  • Trading Spaces, where Wikipedians could request help for designing their user page.

Some of these programs survive as independent projects.

Esperanza was governed by a charter, which stipulated an Advisory Council with staggered terms (two tranches), as well as an Administrator General who was selected by the council two times a year to lead the project. The Administrator General made binding decisions about Esperanza on IRC. Amendments to the charter could be made through week-long discussions held on Misplaced Pages talk:Esperanza. This was criticized as being heavily bureaucratic and counter to the open and transparent spirit of a wiki; Misplaced Pages is not a bureaucracy.

Esperanza was first nominated for deletion in November 2006. Critics of the group argued that Esperanza distracted people from contributing to the encyclopedia proper by providing an environment for social interaction. Esperanza was also criticized for having regular Council elections, which were seen as nothing more than popularity contests. Following a no consensus result in the first motion to delete Esperanza, the organization engaged in a series of reforms, which resulted in the deletion of the coffee lounge, the user page awards, Stressbusters and the Barnstar Brigade. The group also attempted to promote participation in the article namespace by creating an Esperanza Collaboration of the Month. While most of the reform discussions ultimately reached a consensus, the overhaul discussions related to Esperanza's goals, its charter, its governance, what constitutes membership, and the noticeboard weren't completed.

A month later, Esperanza was once again nominated for deletion. Noted complaints against the organization included:

  • The overhaul proved to be unsuccessful in reforming Esperanza as a whole. The participants in the discussions promised to fix Esperanza: this, however, was felt to be done purely to avoid deletion, and not out of conviction. Little reform took place.
  • In addition, its members also believed that Misplaced Pages depended wholly upon the existence of Esperanza, and would break down without it.
  • Likewise, there had been other comments that Wikipedians who were not members of Esperanza were treated as inferior by those who were. Officially, members and non-members alike were invited to participate in Esperanza's programs; in practice, non-members had been set apart through Esperanza's activities, such as the Esperanza Collaboration of the Month.
  • Esperanza was governed by an elected "Advisory Council", whose goal was to discuss any major issues that would affect the organization as a whole. The bureaucracy of this is anti-Misplaced Pages; the council made binding decisions through off-wiki conversations on IRC which were only made available after the event. Although these decisions could be overturned by the general Esperanza community via straw poll, this decision-making process did not follow Misplaced Pages's traditional consensus-building processes.
  • Esperanza was a nice idea but impossible to implement; additionally, a large project isn't needed to spread hope and good cheer.

After long discussion, it was ultimately decided that Esperanza was to be decentralized and disbanded; see Misplaced Pages talk:Esperanza for a list of now-independent projects. Other pages about Esperanza themselves were redirected to this page, which was replaced with the summary above.

More debates followed on various pages in the Misplaced Pages namespace, including on a deletion review filed to review aspects of the MfD closure. The closing admin declared the consensus to be that the original MfD decision was endorsed.

See also

Categories: