Wikimania 2014

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Wikimania 2014

Unread post by Anroth » Wed Feb 06, 2013 11:29 am

Looks like it will be London.

So anyone want to suggest sponsoring a 'Wikipediocracy' room/roundtable?

:D

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Re: Wikimania 2014

Unread post by EricBarbour » Wed Feb 06, 2013 4:18 pm

Anroth wrote:So anyone want to suggest sponsoring a 'Wikipediocracy' room/roundtable?
Very funny, you know quite well that they will call the cops if WPocracy people show up in any quantity or capacity. Bullies are always cowards.

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Re: Wikimania 2014

Unread post by Poetlister » Wed Feb 06, 2013 8:48 pm

I might go. I bet it will be a laugh a minute.
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Re: Wikimania 2014

Unread post by Anroth » Thu Feb 07, 2013 8:16 am

EricBarbour wrote:
Anroth wrote:So anyone want to suggest sponsoring a 'Wikipediocracy' room/roundtable?
Very funny, you know quite well that they will call the cops if WPocracy people show up in any quantity or capacity. Bullies are always cowards.
Unlikely if they are holding it in the Barbican. Too big and too many things going on. While they can rent part of it, I doubt the WMF is going to rent the entire thing to keep security tight. Besides, there are members of the WMF who probably wouldnt be allowed in the country, remind me to keep the email of the HomeSec handy so I can protest them getting a visa!

Could just say 'Wikipediocracy room is at the local pub' tho, its not like there are not enough within a stones throw :D

10 points for every member of WMUK that turns up to see who is there ;)

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Re: Wikimania 2014

Unread post by Hex » Thu Feb 07, 2013 9:50 am

Anroth wrote:Unlikely if they are holding it in the Barbican. Too big and too many things going on.
The Barbican is massive. You could pretty much pick any one of its many entrance halls or terraces and hold an impromptu thing there at any time.

See you there perhaps.
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Re: Wikimania 2014

Unread post by dogbiscuit » Thu Feb 07, 2013 10:38 am

Hex wrote:
Anroth wrote:Unlikely if they are holding it in the Barbican. Too big and too many things going on.
The Barbican is massive. You could pretty much pick any one of its many entrance halls or terraces and hold an impromptu thing there at any time.

See you there perhaps.
I think there could be much more fun ways of causing disruption.

Every Wikipediocracy member who is able shall attend and photograph as many Wikipedians as possible, and gather identifying information. This is done in such a way as it is indistinguishable from people simply taking photographs for their own entertainment, and also from the mindless chit chat that anyone makes when meeting other people.

Just think of the paranoia such a project could induce, and the panic that it could cause in the organisers.

"Well, have to ban cameras."
"Well ban talking to each other, attendees will have a special web page to communicate with other attendees."
"We need extra security and we will have to search all attendees and get them to hand in their mobile phones and iPads."
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Re: Wikimania 2014

Unread post by The Joy » Thu Feb 07, 2013 10:52 am

dogbiscuit wrote:
Hex wrote:
Anroth wrote:Unlikely if they are holding it in the Barbican. Too big and too many things going on.
The Barbican is massive. You could pretty much pick any one of its many entrance halls or terraces and hold an impromptu thing there at any time.

See you there perhaps.
I think there could be much more fun ways of causing disruption.

Every Wikipediocracy member who is able shall attend and photograph as many Wikipedians as possible, and gather identifying information. This is done in such a way as it is indistinguishable from people simply taking photographs for their own entertainment, and also from the mindless chit chat that anyone makes when meeting other people.

Just think of the paranoia such a project could induce, and the panic that it could cause in the organisers.

"Well, have to ban cameras."
"Well ban talking to each other, attendees will have a special web page to communicate with other attendees."
"We need extra security and we will have to search all attendees and get them to hand in their mobile phones and iPads."
Image
Paranoid Wikipedians wrote:On second thought, let's not go to Wikimania. It is a silly place.
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Re: Wikimania 2014

Unread post by Anroth » Thu Feb 07, 2013 10:57 am

I have a 'buttonhole' camera (dont ask why) so in the unlikely event I ever wanted to do that, it would be trivial. Besides these days pretty much every phone has the capability to take and store large amounts of footage so they would need to ban phones as well :D

I can see that happening!

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Re: Wikimania 2014

Unread post by Hex » Thu Feb 07, 2013 11:58 am

dogbiscuit wrote: photograph as many Wikipedians as possible, and gather identifying information.
Why would you want to do that?
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Re: Wikimania 2014

Unread post by dogbiscuit » Thu Feb 07, 2013 12:05 pm

Hex wrote:
dogbiscuit wrote: photograph as many Wikipedians as possible, and gather identifying information.
Why would you want to do that?
I didn't say that I did. The post explains.
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Re: Wikimania 2014

Unread post by Hex » Thu Feb 07, 2013 12:25 pm

Oh, I see.

Well, I'm not sure that anyone would take such a prospect that seriously, though. If someone really wanted to do a creepy thing like that, they'd plan it in private.
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Re: Wikimania 2014

Unread post by Moonage Daydream » Thu Feb 07, 2013 12:35 pm

Hex wrote:Oh, I see.

Well, I'm not sure that anyone would take such a prospect that seriously, though. If someone really wanted to do a creepy thing like that, they'd plan it in private.
It would be fiendishly clever to both plan it in private and talk about it jokingly in public as if it weren't really going to happen.

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Re: Wikimania 2014

Unread post by Anroth » Thu Feb 07, 2013 1:10 pm

:notsosure:

Cant be worse than past wikimania's anyway. Wasnt there one where the WMF hired minders or somesuch to tail one of the attendees?

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Re: Wikimania 2014

Unread post by dogbiscuit » Thu Feb 07, 2013 1:16 pm

Moonage Daydream wrote:
Hex wrote:Oh, I see.

Well, I'm not sure that anyone would take such a prospect that seriously, though. If someone really wanted to do a creepy thing like that, they'd plan it in private.
It would be fiendishly clever to both plan it in private and talk about it jokingly in public as if it weren't really going to happen.
Normal operating procedure here.
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Re: Wikimania 2014

Unread post by Tippi Hadron » Thu Feb 07, 2013 3:11 pm

I think you lot have just made sure that the bid will go to Arusha. ;)

Unlike Team London, they already have a budget. Then again, London has WMUK Jimbo ...
I have extensive and good relationships with the UK press and believe I can help land great press coverage for the conference. I'm a big fan of this bid.--Jimbo Wales (talk) 16:36, 27 July 2012 (UTC)
... as well as several big-name "media partners", among them the BBC, Bloomberg and the Financial Times.

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Re: Wikimania 2014

Unread post by Anroth » Thu Feb 07, 2013 3:19 pm

Tippi Hadron wrote:I think you lot have just made sure that the bid will go to Arusha. ;)
How do you know that wasnt my intention ;)

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Re: Wikimania 2014

Unread post by Tippi Hadron » Thu Feb 07, 2013 3:29 pm

Anroth wrote:
Tippi Hadron wrote:I think you lot have just made sure that the bid will go to Arusha. ;)
How do you know that wasnt my intention ;)
Well played, sir, well played.:D Let them eat chloroquine.

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Re: Wikimania 2014

Unread post by Anroth » Thu Feb 07, 2013 3:42 pm

Really? I was just hoping people might be savaged by a leopard....

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Re: Wikimania 2014

Unread post by lilburne » Thu Feb 07, 2013 8:51 pm

Given the the UK population can tar and feather a paediatrician in the belief that they are a paedophile ...
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Re: Wikimania 2014

Unread post by thekohser » Thu Feb 07, 2013 11:06 pm

Hex wrote:If someone really wanted to do a creepy thing like that, they'd plan it in private.
Not necessarily, Hex. You really don't know your own WikiProjects, do you?
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Re: Wikimania 2014

Unread post by Cla68 » Fri Feb 08, 2013 3:40 am

EricBarbour wrote:
Anroth wrote:So anyone want to suggest sponsoring a 'Wikipediocracy' room/roundtable?
Very funny, you know quite well that they will call the cops if WPocracy people show up in any quantity or capacity. Bullies are always cowards.
There is no reason at all why WPO should not request participation in the conference as an equal partner. WPO should decide its top 3-5 issues with the WMF/Wikipedia, then ask for a time slot to present its stance on those issues. I would be more surprised if the WMF said no than if they said yes, because for one thing it's evident that they read this forum, and another that it would make them look like insecure charlatans trying to stifle constructive criticism. The problem with WPO making a presentation or holding an officially recognized panel or round-table discussion is that it might threaten this site's image as an independent critical forum.

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Re: Wikimania 2014

Unread post by Peter Damian » Fri Feb 08, 2013 7:47 am

Cla68 wrote:
EricBarbour wrote:
Anroth wrote:So anyone want to suggest sponsoring a 'Wikipediocracy' room/roundtable?
Very funny, you know quite well that they will call the cops if WPocracy people show up in any quantity or capacity. Bullies are always cowards.
There is no reason at all why WPO should not request participation in the conference as an equal partner. WPO should decide its top 3-5 issues with the WMF/Wikipedia, then ask for a time slot to present its stance on those issues. I would be more surprised if the WMF said no than if they said yes, because for one thing it's evident that they read this forum, and another that it would make them look like insecure charlatans trying to stifle constructive criticism. The problem with WPO making a presentation or holding an officially recognized panel or round-table discussion is that it might threaten this site's image as an independent critical forum.
Yes why not. Looking again at the evidence Andreas and I presented to the Parliamentary Committee*, which is more extensive and detailed than I had remembered, that captures 2 out of 3 issues, namely BLP and adult content. The third is the quality of the articles which require specialist input. I could give a whole presentation on this.


http://www.parliament.uk/documents/join ... f#page=425 pp 482-493 Andreas was the main author of this.
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Re: Wikimania 2014

Unread post by dogbiscuit » Fri Feb 08, 2013 9:02 am

Peter Damian wrote:Yes why not. Looking again at the evidence Andreas and I presented to the Parliamentary Committee*, which is more extensive and detailed than I had remembered, that captures 2 out of 3 issues, namely BLP and adult content. The third is the quality of the articles which require specialist input. I could give a whole presentation on this.


http://www.parliament.uk/documents/join ... f#page=425 pp 482-493 Andreas was the main author of this.
There is no reason why we should not present. However, it would be difficult to gain an audience out of the Wiki-Faithful. I suspect that you'd be looking at a very low percentage who would want to go to a presentation which was not a "rah! rah! upbeat! isn't it wonderful to be a Wikipedian?" event, as that is the ethos of these gatherings.

When I've done these events for professional organisations, I've normally had to submit some fairly detailed outline of the presentation for approval, so assuming that Wikimania is properly run, the organisers shouldn't have a problem. After all, our line on most of these things are "You can fix this if you put your mind to it." Unfortunately, what actually happens is the Pavlovian response is a refusal to acknowledge concerns, even when raised from within the organisation (see The Bamkin Affair).
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Re: Wikimania 2014

Unread post by lilburne » Fri Feb 08, 2013 9:40 am

We keep forgetting that the wikipedia community is thoroughly broken, and that the WMF is a craven bunch of arseholes. The most perfect presentation at a wikimania will do what? Convince a handful of people that something is broken and needs fixing - so? Who is going to fix it, not the people in that room, they will need to deal with all those that scream NOTCENSORED and tell Jimmy Wales to fuck off on his talk page. That means the WMF are going to have to evolve a spine. Not likely.

In its current form WP is unmaintainable - we all know that. Personally I'd call in the vet to put it out of its misery.
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Re: Wikimania 2014

Unread post by EricBarbour » Fri Feb 08, 2013 8:58 pm

Peter Damian wrote:
Cla68 wrote:There is no reason at all why WPO should not request participation in the conference as an equal partner. WPO should decide its top 3-5 issues with the WMF/Wikipedia, then ask for a time slot to present its stance on those issues. I would be more surprised if the WMF said no than if they said yes, because for one thing it's evident that they read this forum, and another that it would make them look like insecure charlatans trying to stifle constructive criticism. The problem with WPO making a presentation or holding an officially recognized panel or round-table discussion is that it might threaten this site's image as an independent critical forum.
Yes why not.
Are you already forgetting that WMUK banned YOU from their meetings, indefinitely? If you requested entry to Wikimania 2014, I expect they
would drag that WMUK meeting ban out and use it to beat you over the head, until you give up and go away.

I certainly hope you're right, Cla. It would be only "reasonable" for them to give WPO a half-hour to speak, about real issues backed up
with verifiable facts. However, we are not talking about "reasonable people". The WMF is full of liars and back-office politicians, and
WMUK, as the hosting chapter, is even worse. Most of them will cover their ears and scream "LA LA LA LA" if you try to present them
with criticism, no matter how well-thought-out and well-presented. And I fully expect that a few of the worst ones will claim WPO is trying
to "disrupt" their stupid little Wiki-luv-Fest, and then call the authorities and make wild and irrational claims.

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Re: Wikimania 2014

Unread post by Anroth » Fri Feb 08, 2013 9:01 pm

Unlikely, and as the venue is the Barbican, unless they are renting the entire thing, completely unenforceable.

Worth a punt anyway. Remind me when the location is finalised and I will submit a proposal for a roundtable.

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Re: Wikimania 2014

Unread post by EricBarbour » Fri Feb 08, 2013 9:24 pm

Anroth wrote:Cant be worse than past wikimania's anyway. Wasnt there one where the WMF hired minders or somesuch to tail one of the attendees?
Image

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Re: Wikimania 2014

Unread post by mac » Fri Feb 08, 2013 9:28 pm

EricBarbour wrote:
Anroth wrote:Cant be worse than past wikimania's anyway. Wasnt there one where the WMF hired minders or somesuch to tail one of the attendees?
Image
I wonder how much it cost to hire the guards. Is this expense listed anywhere?

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Re: Wikimania 2014

Unread post by EricBarbour » Fri Feb 08, 2013 9:31 pm

mac wrote:I wonder how much it cost to hire the guards. Is this expense listed anywhere?
Are you kidding? People have asked the WMF about this, they vehemently denied all of it.

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Re: Wikimania 2014

Unread post by Peter Damian » Sat Feb 09, 2013 6:46 pm

lilburne wrote:We keep forgetting that the wikipedia community is thoroughly broken, and that the WMF is a craven bunch of arseholes. The most perfect presentation at a wikimania will do what? Convince a handful of people that something is broken and needs fixing - so? Who is going to fix it, not the people in that room, they will need to deal with all those that scream NOTCENSORED and tell Jimmy Wales to fuck off on his talk page. That means the WMF are going to have to evolve a spine. Not likely.

In its current form WP is unmaintainable - we all know that. Personally I'd call in the vet to put it out of its misery.
We've got past that kind of thinking. Consider all the media attention we achieved last year, and think of the things that actually happened because of that.

Jimbo is talking enthusiastically about the Prime Minister coming http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimani ... ids/London and so on. All the world's tech media will be there, and a lot of the non-tech media too. So I think this one may be really different. We could organise a 'fringe' drinks reception, with as many journalists and other chattering people as we can get. Get some posters planned 'Wikipedia is telling us what to think' etc. It's a great opportunity to get the message out. Who cares about the Wikipedians?

Let's start planning.
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Re: Wikimania 2014

Unread post by Malleus » Sat Feb 09, 2013 7:12 pm

I think you've got exactly the right idea Peter. It could be an excellent vehicle for forcing reform on Wikipedia by very publicly raising concerns about its governance and practices. I suppose there may be some who believe that a worthier goal is the total destruction of Wikipedia, but I think we have to live in the world in which we find ourselves.

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Re: Wikimania 2014

Unread post by lilburne » Sat Feb 09, 2013 7:16 pm

Peter Damian wrote:
lilburne wrote:We keep forgetting that the wikipedia community is thoroughly broken, and that the WMF is a craven bunch of arseholes. The most perfect presentation at a wikimania will do what? Convince a handful of people that something is broken and needs fixing - so? Who is going to fix it, not the people in that room, they will need to deal with all those that scream NOTCENSORED and tell Jimmy Wales to fuck off on his talk page. That means the WMF are going to have to evolve a spine. Not likely.

In its current form WP is unmaintainable - we all know that. Personally I'd call in the vet to put it out of its misery.
We've got past that kind of thinking. Consider all the media attention we achieved last year, and think of the things that actually happened because of that.

Jimbo is talking enthusiastically about the Prime Minister coming http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimani ... ids/London and so on. All the world's tech media will be there, and a lot of the non-tech media too. So I think this one may be really different. We could organise a 'fringe' drinks reception, with as many journalists and other chattering people as we can get. Get some posters planned 'Wikipedia is telling us what to think' etc. It's a great opportunity to get the message out. Who cares about the Wikipedians?

Let's start planning.
Well that sounds just like calling in the vet. :evilgrin:
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Re: Wikimania 2014

Unread post by Malleus » Sat Feb 09, 2013 9:34 pm

Caling in the vet to do what? Kill or cure? It's my very distinct impression that are are two deeply divided factions on Wikipediocracy: those who want to destroy Wikipedia by any means possible and those who want to reform it. I consider myself in the reformers camp, but of course YMMV.

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Re: Wikimania 2014

Unread post by SB_Johnny » Sat Feb 09, 2013 11:08 pm

Peter Damian wrote:Let's start planning.
Okay. So who has an available couch? :D

Seriously though, a nice press kit that concisely describes the basic problems in a decidedly-non-tin-foil-hat manner, as well as having a pub staked out with good (but cheap) food and drinks would be the first order of business, I would think.
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Re: Wikimania 2014

Unread post by lilburne » Sat Feb 09, 2013 11:51 pm

Malleus wrote:Caling in the vet to do what? Kill or cure? It's my very distinct impression that are are two deeply divided factions on Wikipediocracy: those who want to destroy Wikipedia by any means possible and those who want to reform it. I consider myself in the reformers camp, but of course YMMV.
What are you going to reform, and how is it going to be reformed? The community and admin corps are a waste of space, you can dismiss them as they are too busy fighting petty battles between themselves to fix anything.

The WMF is not going to get involved in the content, or the governance unless there is a crises. It simply fights fires as and when they break out in the media. Has any one seen any competent plan on addressing the BLP problem, the misogyny, or the racism? How about fixing the atrocious state of the non popular culture articles?

Meanwhile editor participation declines, the admin corps gets smaller, the article count increases, and the site is increasingly run by bots. Its basically on life support, it might continue so for several years before some on pulls the plug, but it is dead in its current form.
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Re: Wikimania 2014

Unread post by Malleus » Sun Feb 10, 2013 12:13 am

What am I going to reform? Wikpedia you daft cunt.

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Re: Wikimania 2014

Unread post by Hex » Sun Feb 10, 2013 12:18 am

lilburne wrote:the site is increasingly run by bots. Its basically on life support
:blink:
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Re: Wikimania 2014

Unread post by EricBarbour » Sun Feb 10, 2013 2:07 am

Malleus wrote:What am I going to reform? Wikpedia you daft cunt.
Yes, I am a daft cunt.

However, anyone thinking Wikipedia can be "reformed" without a total collapse is IMO even dafter and cuntier.
Peter Damian wrote:Let's start planning.
Not a problem. We already have ample material that can be collected into a press packet and distributed.

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Re: Wikimania 2014

Unread post by lilburne » Sun Feb 10, 2013 8:37 am

Malleus wrote:What am I going to reform? Wikpedia you daft cunt.
Sweetheart, you gotta do better than that, you aint in tellytubbies land now, and I'm an old TGWU branch secretary.

Reform wikipedia ... damn boy you are one ArbCom election away from a permaban.
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Re: Wikimania 2014

Unread post by Peter Damian » Sun Feb 10, 2013 10:08 am

SB_Johnny wrote:
Peter Damian wrote:Let's start planning.
Seriously though, a nice press kit that concisely describes the basic problems in a decidedly-non-tin-foil-hat manner, as well as having a pub staked out with good (but cheap) food and drinks would be the first order of business, I would think.
Why a pub? If we wanted to come across as 'serious', then hire a room close to the Wikimania venue, preferably in the Barbican itself. The basic cost for a room, without extras, is actually very cheap in London, probably £80-120. I am happy to put up the money for this. Extras like projectors and stuff are very expensive, but I suggest we don't need those. Focus on getting the right guests, and on carefully talking to them about the right subjects, which costs nothing. My daughter could provide catering, which again I could subsidise, which could be let's say £80 each for 4-6 of her needy friends who will be mired in student debt, let's say £500. Add to this the cost of finger food and drinks, probably another £500, although careful selection of drinks and food could reduce this considerably. I don't know whether rooms are 'tied' to caterers. It looks as though the Barbican is http://www.barbican.org.uk/banqueting/event-planning (to Searcy's, who are not that good IMO). They charge around £20 per person. 50 people = £1,000 total, actually about the same as 'do it yourself'.

The Barbican has a number of venues, but they all look rather large for events purposes. E.g. the Conservatory Terrace looks fabulous http://www.barbican.org.uk/generic/venu ... commercial , http://www.barbican.org.uk/generic/venu ... commercial , but is for 200, and there is the risk of 40 people in a huddle stuck at one end.

For a reception, probably best to avoid 'press kits' at that stage, and focus on building relationships with writers and other players. If you provide food and drink there is an unwritten contract that you will not ignore at least the first email, and there is the chance of building a lasting relationshiop. At the very most, a well-designed and unobtrusive stand with material to take away, if they want.

Of the foremost importance is getting the right people on the guest list. Will the idea of Wikipediocracy be an attraction? Or a putoff? Could we get just one tech celebrity to agree to attend, e.g. someone like Shirky or Doctorow? Orlowski would be sure to come, as he is based in London and is sympathetic.

[edit] Of course I am sure that Larry Sanger might want to become involved. I will ask him.
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Re: Wikimania 2014

Unread post by Peter Damian » Sun Feb 10, 2013 10:32 am

Transcript of most of Jimmy's talk here http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimani ... ids/London .
So, generally, historically for Wikimania I've mainly, er, stayed out of [pause] supporting any particular bid, because in the past I've never had any particular .. there's lots of exciting places in the world, so let's just, do it wherever. This time around I'm, er, deviating from things a little bit, because I'm really excited about the possibility of London Wikimania. Er, part of it is the very simple and selfish reason that I live in London and I won't have to travel! Er, but additionally as I live in London I see lots of exciting synergies here with Wikimania. It's an amazing cultural city, of course, it's so iconic, people from all around the world I think will enjoy coming here and visiting the city but additionally, because of the situation here in London, I'm excited that I can personally help out for the first time in a really significant way. Ah, I'm going to be, er, offering to help and try to wrangle in really great speakers and really top interesting people. I have a dream, who knows if I can make it come true, but I would love to have the Prime Minister come, and the deputy Prime Minister, and the leader of the Labour Party. For you in the community this is our chance to say, we're here on the map, everybody better pay attention to us and, er, I think London will be a fabulous city to do that.

So, traditionally for Wikimania, which is our annual conference, has been an internal event, where, er, we bring in editors from all around the world, typically the bulk of them are from Europe and the U.S., but we also try to bring in people from far-flung places to share best practices, to think about the future of Wikipedia, and things like this. And that is really always going to be a core part of Wikimania, that is a very important part. What I'm excited about, though, is the concept that perhaps Wikimania can grow and become something bigger. In addition to that core community event, we can use Wikimania as an outreach event, to open up to the public, to invite people in to meet comedians, to have [..?] where they learn to become editors, to learn all of the exciting things going on in the free culture world. What we are thinking of here is something more like a TED style event, something where there's a lasting legacy, exciting and fun videos from prominent speakers who are talking about free culture, who are talking about Wikipedia, who are talking about all the exciting things that are possible because I think there is this amazing energy out there, ah, and it's a really great time to harness that energy and get more people [mumbles].
[The rest is about the team working on the bid, and the chapter involvement]
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Re: Wikimania 2014

Unread post by Peter Damian » Sun Feb 10, 2013 11:01 am

Another idea. Brand it as a 'paid culture' event, hire a string quartet or some band to play, and have material available about 'paid culture' and how free culture advocates are supporting corporations that rip off musicians like these, by enabling piracy, by supporting SOPA and so on. Guaranteed to get the digerati enraged and guarantees interest in the event. The possibilities are endless.
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Re: Wikimania 2014

Unread post by Cla68 » Sun Feb 10, 2013 1:16 pm

I think you're on the right track. I take it I'm the only active member of this forum planning on attending the 2013 conference in Hong Kong. I wasn't planning on making any noise at it, however, just sitting back and observing with a superior, smug smile on my face.

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Re: Wikimania 2014

Unread post by EricBarbour » Sun Feb 10, 2013 7:25 pm

Peter Damian wrote:Why a pub? If we wanted to come across as 'serious', then hire a room close to the Wikimania venue, preferably in the Barbican itself.
Agreed. If you need more money, let me know.
My daughter could provide catering, which again I could subsidise, which could be let's say £80 each for 4-6 of her needy friends who will be mired in student debt, let's say £500. Add to this the cost of finger food and drinks, probably another £500, although careful selection of drinks and food could reduce this considerably. I don't know whether rooms are 'tied' to caterers. It looks as though the Barbican is http://www.barbican.org.uk/banqueting/event-planning (to Searcy's, who are not that good IMO). They charge around £20 per person. 50 people = £1,000 total, actually about the same as 'do it yourself'.
That seems a bit costly to me for refreshments. Admittedly some journalists will take you "more seriously" if you're giving away beer and wine and junk food, but the focus should be on the content. It would be bad if people showed up just for the free beer, and ignored the actual information.

If there was a way to limit attendees to actual working members of the press and other concerned people, that would help. Invitation only?
And if you're giving out alcohol, it will have to be limited to over-21, thus excluding student journalists.

If you're doing invitation-only, make it seem as if the people being invited are "elite" in some way. A pretentious cover letter telling them
their participation is "critical", and that this event will "make headlines", might soothe some troubled egos. And bring in more warm bodies.
For a reception, probably best to avoid 'press kits' at that stage, and focus on building relationships with writers and other players. If you provide food and drink there is an unwritten contract that you will not ignore at least the first email, and there is the chance of building a lasting relationshiop. At the very most, a well-designed and unobtrusive stand with material to take away, if they want.
okay--make a packet optional, but DO get cards with contact info printed, and pass them out freely.
Of the foremost importance is getting the right people on the guest list. Will the idea of Wikipediocracy be an attraction? Or a putoff? Could we get just one tech celebrity to agree to attend, e.g. someone like Shirky or Doctorow? Orlowski would be sure to come, as he is based in London and is sympathetic.
Yes, getting some sympathetic people is not difficult. Getting a rabid Wiki-fan like Shirky and Doctorow to attend will be much more difficult.
(Have you noticed that guys like them are very Jimbo-like, prone to self-glorification and arrogance?)

If there is a way to invite MPs and other government officials, all the better. Perhaps the Charity Commission should be invited en masse.

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Re: Wikimania 2014

Unread post by EricBarbour » Sun Feb 10, 2013 7:28 pm

Cla68 wrote:I think you're on the right track. I take it I'm the only active member of this forum planning on attending the 2013 conference in Hong Kong. I wasn't planning on making any noise at it, however, just sitting back and observing with a superior, smug smile on my face.
Don't just sit there--talk to journalists. Make up a press packet from the material on the WPO wiki and give copies (with charts, they love charts)
to credentialed press people.

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Re: Wikimania 2014

Unread post by Hex » Sun Feb 10, 2013 8:25 pm

If you're serious about the book, I suggest giving out a sample chapter.
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Re: Wikimania 2014

Unread post by SB_Johnny » Sun Feb 10, 2013 11:42 pm

EricBarbour wrote:
Peter Damian wrote:Why a pub? If we wanted to come across as 'serious', then hire a room close to the Wikimania venue, preferably in the Barbican itself.
That seems a bit costly to me for refreshments. Admittedly some journalists will take you "more seriously" if you're giving away beer and wine and junk food, but the focus should be on the content. It would be bad if people showed up just for the free beer, and ignored the actual information.
That's why it's better to stake out a good pub (or cafe, whatev) with good but cheap eats and drinks, as a no-pressure spot to come for a chat.
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Re: Wikimania 2014

Unread post by SB_Johnny » Mon Feb 11, 2013 12:22 am

Hex wrote:If you're serious about the book, I suggest giving out a sample chapter.
:facepalm:
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Re: Wikimania 2014

Unread post by Randy from Boise » Mon Feb 11, 2013 1:58 am

Cla68 wrote:
EricBarbour wrote:
Anroth wrote:So anyone want to suggest sponsoring a 'Wikipediocracy' room/roundtable?
Very funny, you know quite well that they will call the cops if WPocracy people show up in any quantity or capacity. Bullies are always cowards.
There is no reason at all why WPO should not request participation in the conference as an equal partner. WPO should decide its top 3-5 issues with the WMF/Wikipedia, then ask for a time slot to present its stance on those issues. I would be more surprised if the WMF said no than if they said yes, because for one thing it's evident that they read this forum, and another that it would make them look like insecure charlatans trying to stifle constructive criticism. The problem with WPO making a presentation or holding an officially recognized panel or round-table discussion is that it might threaten this site's image as an independent critical forum.
This.

RfB

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Re: Wikimania 2014

Unread post by AlexandrDmitri » Wed Feb 13, 2013 4:21 pm

EricBarbour wrote: If there was a way to limit attendees to actual working members of the press and other concerned people, that would help. Invitation only?
And if you're giving out alcohol, it will have to be limited to over-21, thus excluding student journalists.
You can drink legally at the age of eighteen in the UK.

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