Last modified: 2012-11-18 04:30:27 UTC
This happened in the USA, on a Wikimedia donation page localized in Italian, but it might apply to other countries and languages. 1. 'donate' link on English Wikipedia takes me to the Italian donation page. 2. monetary values are displayed in $, so the system is probably assuming, correctly, that I am going to donate in $ despite the page being displayed in Italian. 3. my USA debit card data is submitted. 4. As I submit the payment information, the system must assume incorrectly that I am outside of the USA, and returns the error message at point 5 because all USA cards can only be used on USA soil. But it doesn't explicitly state so and it simply recommends that I use a different card or payment method. 5. https://payments.wikimedia.org/index.php/donate-error?uselang=en 6. It looks like a very generic error, so I try the same operation again, but the outcome is the same. I give up and forget about it. 7. A couple of days later I find *two* pending transactions for the donated amount in my bank account. Marked this as critical because most people will not understand what the error message is about, and they might try the donation several times, each time inadvertently succeeding. They might only realize they're missing a fortune when they go and check their bank statement, and that could prove very bad for Wikimedia's reputation.
Where did you find the "donation link" on English Wikipedia? I double checked the sidebar link and it is directing users to a page in English. If the computer you are using geolocates to the US, then you will receive US donation forms. The language and country have no relation. I have located your donation and your credit card was not denied due to the system thinking you were out of the US. For more assistance, please contact problemsdonating@wikimedia.org and reference "GC 9786644576"
The link was in a small blue banner at the top of the page (not there anymore), not the regular "Donate to Wikipedia" sidebar link. I can't reproduce the language switch myself, so it could be that I was wrong and I was in the Italian Wikipedia after all and so I went straight to the Italian donation page with $ signs, now it makes all the more sense. I'm using Debian Squeeze in Italian, language switches while I'm browsing happen often, I hardly notice. I still had the error saying that the transaction could not be accepted, whereas it was very well accepted. Twice. If I get an error message, the payment information should be blocked, or I might go ahead and give it another try, maybe even do as it says and try other cards, only to find later on that all attempts have succeeded and I have donated double or triple what I meant to. I've already written to donations@wikimedia.org, I'm going to write again to the address you posted and submit your reference. Thanks.
There are several procedures in place to prevent duplicate donations. The pending charges on your credit card are authorizations that will go away since the payments did not go through in the end. I have more information as to why your donation did not go through, but I'm not going to post it publicly in Bugzilla. Hopefully that will answer some questions.
Oh, so they didn't go through? I didn't get that part. I was sure the money was on the way out. I don't understand why I couldn't make the donation, but I'm growing an idea that changing bank might be a viable solution. Thank you for your patience.
