Currently more than 1,400 users are registered, and efforts are underway to address a more global audience:
*[//tools.wmflabs.org/pb/beta/users/ tools.wmflabs.org/pb/beta/users] (in English, beta)
*[//tools.wmflabs.org/pb/beta/users/ tools.wmflabs.org/pb/beta/users] (in English, beta)
*[//tools.wmflabs.org/pb/beta/recent/ tools.wmflabs.org/pb/beta/recent] (Recent confirmations, in English, beta)
*[//tools.wmflabs.org/pb/beta/recent/ tools.wmflabs.org/pb/beta/recent] (Recent confirmations, in English, beta)
Revisionasof10:03,29April2014
This page is for a community project in the German-language Wikipedia (German: Persönliche Bekanntschaften) where the community of active Wikipedians in real life (→ meetings, associations, etc) is introduced. All Wikimedia project users can sign up with his/her user name in this project and other users can confirm that they have met this user face-to-face. Every user can sign up and receive confirmations with their main account which is known to other users. Wikipedians may publish the primary account that they use — sub-accounts are not accepted here. With the aim to improve the working environment and reduce, or eliminate, doubts about the identity of other users.
This system of mutual confirmations is currently only working in de.wikipedia but is also accessible for all other users via the single user login system, and its main pages have been translated in many languages, including English. It is easy to use and without the need to have an external review of the identity, and takes data protection and anonymity on the Internet into account. For disadvantages, see the FAQ. A more demanding alternative to this system is the bail procedure.
Users can create multiple accounts. Many users do, for different reasons and within policy. Secondary accounts are sometimes used with other intentions, which have nothing to do with encyclopaedic work.
On this page, a user account is valid if it is a primary account under the following condition: At least three confirmed people then confirm that they have met a real person with that specific username (after a face-to-face meeting). They are showing their confirmations on the page listed below. In addition only confirmed primary accounts may confirm other users. Unconfirmed users are marked in the list shown below with "unbestätigt (unconfirmed)". Participation is optional. Once a confirmation is done, it is done definitively.
Anonymity and data protection
Unlike the identification, this method has the advantage of not encroaching on anonymity on the Internet. All participants decide themselves before confirming to show or hide their names or personal data as confirmations are only presented on this page using the user name on Wikipedia. There is no change from the existing wiki status. Regardless of the dates, places, times, or the number of meetings were held. The protection of data and the principles of Wikipedia are fully respected and complied with.
If the system is considered too fragile or that users want more security, these users may optionally be confirmed by an independent proof of the user's identity. The proof can be referenced for the main account.
How it affects users
Well-known users can give and receive multiple confirmations.
Lesser known users may be accepted by the community as genuine members if they attend a meeting and let us confirm them. Thus, each member of the community can recognize less known guests as a persons who participate in the active community.
Secondary accounts cannot be confirmed here because nobody knows them personally.
It is not a voting; the confirmations are not votes; there are no prerequisites for participation. Anyone can participate. The order of the users has no informational value.
The rules are very simple:
Before you start, it is recommended to set your preferences in your native language or English. Be sure that you are logged in with the account that you consider as your main (primary) account and with which you would like to be confirmed.
First you need to go to de.wikipedia and there to your preferences ("Einstellungen") to the "Extensions (Helferlein)" tab, then to the section "Veränderung der Oberfläche", select the box "Erweiterte Benutzeroberfläche für Wikipedia:Persönliche Bekanntschaften aktivieren, um Bestätigungen hier vornehmen zu können."
Then go to /neue Anfragen and select "I want to take part in this". Your account has not been confirmed in the first instance (unbestätigt) and so long you can not confirm other users. Therefore, it only makes sense to sign up here if you already have met at least three Wikipedians in person or expect to meet them in the coming days, for example, at a Meetup.
Once you have received three confirmations, you are considered a confirmed person and get a notice from a bot on your de.wiki user talk ("Benutzer Diskussion") page.
Users that have been confirmed, can, and should, confirm other users that they have met personally in real life. There is no value or assessment involved. The relationship of users to each other (sympathy, antipathy, ménage à trois or friendship) does not matter.
Inadmissible on this page:
Giving any comments on how one acts (details about the type and manner of meeting, the personal relationship, praise or criticism, real data, etc.) Such comments may be removed at the request, which also means no assessment. It is sufficient to report that on this talk page.
Users cannot be confirmed if one does not know the person from real life, even if one is strongly convinced of their identity.
Undesirable are the confirmations of multiple accounts used by an individual, for example, to confirm secondary accounts besides the main account. This corresponds to an attempt to defraud, which, in the long run, will not go unnoticed. By visible cross relationships common fraudulent requests can also be closed.
Manually editing the page /neue Einträge is strictly prohibited. In particular, the introduction of different user names is undesirable.
It is recommended that all participants add the page Wikipedia:Persönliche Bekanntschaften/Neu dazugekommen to their watchlist to have an actual overview of new participants (the period is automatically limited to the last two months).
If a participant withdraws his membership, his main account will be anonymised in the database. Confirmations of retired users are retained for consistency, and the entries in the logs remain entirely unchanged. This anonymity is composed of a name change in Ex-Teilnehmer and can be undone on request.
In case of fraud, no matter what form, the relevant account and all confirmations received from the fraudster will be highlighted as "deleted" (gelöscht) from the database.
List of participators
Currently more than 1,400 users are registered, and efforts are underway to address a more global audience:
Participants mostly active on the English Wikipedia
This list should contain most users who are continuously active on the English-language Wikipedia and have signed up in the system of Personal acquaintances (German: Persönliche Bekanntschaften). Signing up and adding yourself here only makes sense if you have met at least three other Wikimedians in real life. Put this page on your watchlist if you want to be informed about new participants. See also the full list of particpants.
This box can be used on de-wiki, en-wiki, fr-wiki, nl-wiki, Commons, Meta, Wikidata, wiki of Wikimedia Belgium, the wiki of Wikimedia Netherlands, and can be requested for any other Wikimedia wiki.
