Wikimania 2015: bids are in

Anthonyhcole · Unread post by **Anthonyhcole** » Sat Mar 22, 2014 1:58 am

Meta announcement: Wikimania 2015 bids
Related Wikipediocracy thread:Wikimania 2015: "Africa is a bit of a black hole"

Bids:
Bali, Indonesia
Esino Lario, Lake Como region, Italy
Cape Town, South Africa
Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
Monastir, Tunisia
Mexico City, Mexico

thekohser · Unread post by **thekohser** » Sat Mar 22, 2014 4:36 am

There is one location on that list that the Kohs family might tie in with a vacation. I won't reveal which one, so that Jimbo has to alert *all* of their police departments, to warn them of the "dangerous stalker" armed with a laptop and a wireless Internet plan.

The Joy · Unread post by **The Joy** » Sat Mar 22, 2014 8:10 am

Bali, Indonesia - Not friendly to LGBT folks
Esino Lario, Lake Como region, Italy - In the "West." That's bad.
Cape Town, South Africa - Acceptable, though may not be friendly to LGBT folks.
Dar es Salaam, Tanzania - Acceptable, but may not be friendly to LGBT folks.
Monastir, Tunisia - Still recovering from Arab Spring. Islamists taking over. Not friendly to LGBT folks.
Mexico City, Mexico - Drug wars and kidnappings. No.

thekohser · Unread post by **thekohser** » Sat Mar 22, 2014 2:32 pm

The Joy wrote:Dar es Salaam, Tanzania - Acceptable, but may not be friendly to LGBT folks.

Jimbo will certainly have his choice of suitable lodging in Dar es Salaam.

The Adversary · Unread post by **The Adversary** » Sat Mar 22, 2014 3:33 pm

thekohser wrote:
The Joy wrote:Dar es Salaam, Tanzania - Acceptable, but may not be friendly to LGBT folks.
Jimbo will certainly have his choice of suitable lodging in Dar es Salaam.

Greg: sometimes you a very silly.
Folks, for those of you who haven`t been there: Dar es Salaam a beautiful city. (Well, large parts of it!) I will always remember those long walks in three-filled avenues, with peacocks strolling openly around. (The peacocks were the least nice part, actually: they can be quite agressive!) (Ok: this was in the late 90s: I expect it is more crowded/polluted now?)
Plenty of hotels, of all standards and price-range.

Tanzania is a tourist-country: lots of tourists come there for safaris, climbing Kilimanjaro, or visit Zanzibar.
Plus, of course, lots and lots of aid workers.

And I am sad to say: not many countries in Africa are friendly to LGBT folks.

I agree with The Joy: the one absolute no is Mexico City.
If the drug wars or kidnappings doesn`t kill you, the pollution probably will.

The Joy · Unread post by **The Joy** » Sat Mar 22, 2014 6:15 pm

I think Tanzania would be the best place out of those selections. Besides, Julius Nyerere (T-H-L) is one of my favorite African leaders.

Stierlitz · Unread post by **Stierlitz** » Tue Mar 25, 2014 11:14 pm

They should take advantage of the situation and meet in the now-empty Olympics village in Sochi.
The Wikimania 2014 theme song.

Versus · Unread post by **Versus** » Wed Mar 26, 2014 1:35 am

The Joy wrote:I think Tanzania would be the best place out of those selections. Besides, Julius Nyerere (T-H-L) is one of my favorite African leaders.

+1. Coverage of sub-Saharan Africa on Wikipedia is quite poor compared to other geographic areas. Let's see Wikipedia address this issue.

Malleus · Unread post by **Malleus** » Wed Mar 26, 2014 1:53 am

Versus wrote:
The Joy wrote:I think Tanzania would be the best place out of those selections. Besides, Julius Nyerere (T-H-L) is one of my favorite African leaders.
+1. Coverage of sub-Saharan Africa on Wikipedia is quite poor compared to other geographic areas. Let's see Wikipedia address this issue.

No doubt the decision will be made on the basis of where the WMF staff would most like their next paid holiday to be.

Unread post by **tarantino** » Wed Mar 26, 2014 2:37 am

The Joy wrote:I think Tanzania would be the best place out of those selections. Besides, Julius Nyerere (T-H-L) is one of my favorite African leaders.

Fæ has published his LGBT safety ratings on the current bid locations, and Dar es Salaam is a no go.

Cla68 · Unread post by **Cla68** » Wed Mar 26, 2014 6:22 am

Malleus wrote:No doubt the decision will be made on the basis of where the WMF staff would most like their next paid holiday to be.

Yup.

Kumioko · Unread post by **Kumioko** » Wed Mar 26, 2014 2:27 pm

I'll pretend to still like Wikipedia to go back to Cape town. Beautiful place. Bali and Mexico city not so much. And of the places listed I think they would be the most accepting of LGBT but most of the world isn't as accepting as the US so if it comes down to LGBT they'll have it in San Fracncisco.

Kelly Martin · Unread post by **Kelly Martin** » Wed Mar 26, 2014 3:18 pm

Malleus wrote:No doubt the decision will be made on the basis of where the WMF staff would most like their next paid holiday to be.

But of course. That is, of course, the main purpose of Wikimania. I'm amazed they haven't pushed for holding it in Micronesia.

Jim · Unread post by **Jim** » Wed Mar 26, 2014 3:33 pm

Kelly Martin wrote:I'm amazed they haven't pushed for holding it in Micronesia.

Just run it past Ashley's "homophobia watch" safeguards, first, to be on the safe side. I think it could fly.

Hex · Unread post by **Hex** » Wed Mar 26, 2014 6:55 pm

Kumioko wrote:I'll pretend to still like Wikipedia to go back to Cape town. Beautiful place. Bali and Mexico city not so much.

I must differ with you on whether Bali is beautiful. It's been about ten years since I was there, but it's one of my favorite places in the world.

Mancunium · Unread post by **Mancunium** » Mon Apr 07, 2014 4:17 pm

Tutti pazzi per Wikipedia: Esino sfida Washington per il raduno mondiale
"Wikimania Esino Lario 2016". Un paese di 780 abitanti si candida a ospitare Wikimania, il raduno mondiale dei volontari di Wikipedia e dei progetti Wikimedia
Il Giorno, 7 April 2014 link

Google-translation from Italian link

Something About Wikipedia: Esino challenge Washington for the rally world
"Esino Lario Wikimania 2016". A village of 780 inhabitants is a candidate to host Wikimania, the world gathering of volunteers from Wikipedia and Wikimedia projects

Esino (Lecco), April 7, 2014 - This idea that you do not expect. This is "Wikimania 2016 Esino Lario", ie a mountain village of 780 inhabitants that is a candidate to host Wikimania, the world gathering of volunteers from Wikipedia and the Wikimedia projects, challenging Mexico City, Bali and other cities. [...] "But how do you know over 2 thousand people and work with them dispersed in a city of over eight million inhabitants?" Is the question that has been made so the promoters of Lecco and the application of Esino wants to offer something different to Wikimania : a scheduled event for thousands of people and limited to a small territory, able to facilitate interaction among participants, create collaboration between local people and the event, and make an impact and development of the territory. The application proposes a new program and Wikimania Esino Lario is organized to create a permanent space for collaborative work that will transform the old Museum of Grignes in a home for the associations, will improve the accessibility of the sports hall and distribute free broadband internet on the territory. The date chosen is the last week of June 2016, and competes with Mexico City, Cape Town in South Africa, Bali in Indonesia, Monastir in Tunisia and Dar es Salaam in Tanzania. "It's those challenges that develop knowledge, innovation, collaboration and technology - said Iolanda Pensa, one of the promoters of the initiative - and Wikimania Esino Lario wants to show that a small mountain village can contribute to the development of the movement Wikimedia, and that an event such as Wikimania can and should be an opportunity to contribute to the development and the momentum of an area. Deploy in Esino internet connection needed for an event like Wikimania means to resolve technical issues, but it also means a place to offer access to technology that is known to be particularly important and especially in the mountains."

Republished in several other Italian newspapers, all of them using the date 2016.

The Joy · Unread post by **The Joy** » Tue Apr 08, 2014 6:22 am

tarantino wrote:
The Joy wrote:I think Tanzania would be the best place out of those selections. Besides, Julius Nyerere (T-H-L) is one of my favorite African leaders.
Fæ has published his LGBT safety ratings on the current bid locations, and Dar es Salaam is a no go.

Unfortunately, there are very few places that are 100% safe for LGBT people, even in democratic and tolerant countries like the U.S. If Wikimania is seen by a country as bringing in money and good international publicity, the government is more likely to be tolerant and tell its police to leave LGBT people alone to avoid international condemnation (see what happened with the recent Winter Olympics). Who knows? It may change a few hearts.

Kumioko · Unread post by **Kumioko** » Tue Apr 08, 2014 3:06 pm

Hex wrote:
Kumioko wrote:I'll pretend to still like Wikipedia to go back to Cape town. Beautiful place. Bali and Mexico city not so much.
I must differ with you on whether Bali is beautiful. It's been about ten years since I was there, but it's one of my favorite places in the world.

Maybe I need to try it again but my last and only visit to Bali was less than steller.

Anthonyhcole · Unread post by **Anthonyhcole** » Tue Apr 22, 2014 6:02 am

Ellie Young, WMF Conference Coordinator
On behalf of the Wikimania Steering Committee:

On the recommendation of the Wikimania 2015 selection Jury Committee, we have accepted the proposal from Mexico DF to host. The proposal will be further vetted by the WMF staff in the coming month, after which time we hope to confirm the award. Please join us in congratulating Wikimedia Mexico!

link

Notvelty · Unread post by **Notvelty** » Tue Apr 22, 2014 6:20 am

Anthonyhcole wrote:Ellie Young, WMF Conference Coordinator
On behalf of the Wikimania Steering Committee:
On the recommendation of the Wikimania 2015 selection Jury Committee, we have accepted the proposal from Mexico DF to host. The proposal will be further vetted by the WMF staff in the coming month, after which time we hope to confirm the award. Please join us in congratulating Wikimedia Mexico!
link

The response from someone who appears to be part of the group of Mexican nationals organising the meet should be the template for future Wikimedia responses.

No dodging. No excuses. No bullshit. Just acknowledging the concerns and enunciating the specific actions they have taken or will take to address them. Whether these things actually take place or not is another thing, but his(?) response certainly showed up the usual garbage from the likes of Philippe.

The Adversary · Unread post by **The Adversary** » Tue Apr 22, 2014 6:52 am

One of the most polluted cities in the world.. ... (nr 4, according to this list ).

One of the safer cities in Mexico, but that doesn´t say much, in a country with 12 cities on the "top 50" list: List of cities by murder rate (T-H-L)

So, heartfelt congrats from WO to WMF for this choice!
:irony:

thekohser · Unread post by **thekohser** » Tue Apr 22, 2014 12:48 pm

Wikipedia says "modern Mexico City lacks slums in the classical definition of the word".

Wikipedia also says "Neza-Chalco-Izta in Mexico City, is a Ciudad Perdida, rated as the world's largest mega-slum in 2006."

Great news that in only 8 short years, "modern" Mexico City was able to de-slumify the world's largest mega-slum! Clearly one of the reasons the WMF will award the Wikimania conference to Mexico City.

enwikibadscience · Unread post by **enwikibadscience** » Tue Apr 22, 2014 1:50 pm

thekohser wrote:Wikipedia says "modern Mexico City lacks slums in the classical definition of the word".

Wikipedia also says "Neza-Chalco-Izta in Mexico City, is a Ciudad Perdida, rated as the world's largest mega-slum in 2006."

Great news that in only 8 short years, "modern" Mexico City was able to de-slumify the world's largest mega-slum! Clearly one of the reasons the WMF will award the Wikimania conference to Mexico City.

Poetlister · Unread post by **Poetlister** » Tue Apr 22, 2014 3:48 pm

thekohser wrote:Wikipedia says "modern Mexico City lacks slums in the classical definition of the word".

Wikipedia also says "Neza-Chalco-Izta in Mexico City, is a Ciudad Perdida, rated as the world's largest mega-slum in 2006."

Great news that in only 8 short years, "modern" Mexico City was able to de-slumify the world's largest mega-slum! Clearly one of the reasons the WMF will award the Wikimania conference to Mexico City.

Maybe a mega-slum isn't a slum in the classical definition of the word. Maybe the area isn't in the modern part of the city. There's bound to be a get-out using Wikilogic.

Randy from Boise · Unread post by **Randy from Boise** » Tue Apr 22, 2014 8:32 pm

Mexico City is a big-ass place and comparatively easy to reach from most anywhere in the world.

It pretty much makes sense to me for the junket to be held there.

RfB

thekohser · Unread post by **thekohser** » Tue Apr 22, 2014 8:49 pm

Randy from Boise wrote:Mexico City is a big-ass place and comparatively easy to reach from most anywhere in the world.

It pretty much makes sense to me for the junket to be held there.

When you attend, please carry a lot of cash, and look as much like a trust fund baby as you can. You can submit a guest blog about your experiences in Mexico City, though we do not have as powerful a blog server as the WMF's vaunted Automattic platform.

Mancunium · Unread post by **Mancunium** » Tue Apr 22, 2014 9:46 pm

The important thing is that Fæ thinks Mexico is LGBT-friendly: link.

He may wish to correct the information contained in LGBT_in_Mexico#Societal_prejudices_and_terminologies (T-H-L)

[...] Homophobia is also deeply rooted in the family. In 2004 only four families of those murdered in homophobic crimes, of a total of 26, offered to give information on the matter to an investigation commission. In Mexico City, in 2004, of 125 corpses of homosexuals, only 75 were claimed by their relatives; for thirteen others, the family came only to the identification; the family of the rest did not approach the funeral home, despite having been informed.[14] There exist signs that Mexican youth are being committed to psychiatric clinics after coming out to family. Some 16% have been rejected by family, and a greater percentage have been physically attacked by relatives.[13] [...]

And in this: LGBT_in_Mexico#Violence_against_LGBT_people (T-H-L)

Homophobia is very widespread in Mexican society. Statisticians show that between 2002 and 2007 alone, 1,000 people have been murdered in homophobic crimes, as the Chamber of Deputies revealed in May 2007, making Mexico the county with the second-highest rate of homophobic crimes in the world (after Brazil).[25][26] In a journalistic study by Fernando del Collado, titled Homofobia, odio, crimen y justicia (Homophobia, Hate, Crime, and Justice), there were discussed 400 dead between 1995 and 2005, that is to say, some three murders a month,[14] but the City Commission Against Homophobic Hate Crimes calculates that only one in four crimes is reported.[27] From January to August 2009, 40 gay people were murdered in Michoacán alone, nearly all of them in the Tierra Caliente area.[28] The great majority are against gay men; from 1995 to 2004, "only" sixteen women had been murdered.[13] The crimes are often ignored or investigated with little interest by the police forces, who give impunity to the criminal in 98% of cases.[14][27] [...]

thekohser · Unread post by **thekohser** » Tue Apr 22, 2014 10:01 pm

Mancunium, surely all of the troubles with LGBT in Mexico reside outside of the glorious, slum-free capital, Mexico City! Fae is correct. Wikipedia is correct. You are just stirring up trouble where none exists.

Mancunium · Unread post by **Mancunium** » Tue Apr 22, 2014 10:32 pm

thekohser wrote:Mancunium, surely all of the troubles with LGBT in Mexico reside outside of the glorious, slum-free capital, Mexico City! Fae is correct. Wikipedia is correct. You are just stirring up trouble where none exists.

Move along. Nothing to see here.

Cla68 · Unread post by **Cla68** » Tue Apr 22, 2014 10:57 pm

Mexico City is fine if you watch what you're doing, like most major cities around the world.

Mancunium · Unread post by **Mancunium** » Tue Apr 22, 2014 11:45 pm

Cla68 wrote:Mexico City is fine if you watch what you're doing, like most major cities around the world.

Well, of course. No matter where you go, the person most likely to murder you is your spouse, followed closely by your relatives, friends, co-workers and neighbors. In fact, you're always safer in a place where nobody knows you.

Global Study on Homicide 2013
United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime link

Johnny Au · Unread post by **Johnny Au** » Wed Apr 23, 2014 12:53 am

It is unfortunate that Huitzilopochtli is demanding live beating hearts from homosexuals even to this day.

Mancunium · Unread post by **Mancunium** » Wed Apr 23, 2014 1:34 am

Johnny Au wrote:It is unfortunate that Huitzilopochtli is demanding live beating hearts from homosexuals even to this day.

This is Huitzilopochtli (T-H-L):

This adorable entity is our friend Coatlicue (T-H-L):

thekohser · Unread post by **thekohser** » Wed Apr 23, 2014 2:19 am

It's strange how Wikipedia's article about Mexico City makes zero mention of the 2013 serial killings of people by packs of wild dogs, even though it was covered extensively in mainstream news.

Vigilant · Unread post by **Vigilant** » Wed Apr 23, 2014 2:26 am

Cla68 wrote:Mexico City is fine if you watch what you're doing, like most major cities around the world.

I wonder how many they'll lose.

Johnny Au · Unread post by **Johnny Au** » Wed Apr 23, 2014 2:39 am

Mancunium wrote:
Johnny Au wrote:It is unfortunate that Huitzilopochtli is demanding live beating hearts from homosexuals even to this day.
This is Huitzilopochtli (T-H-L):

This adorable entity is our friend Coatlicue (T-H-L):

Those two are why homosexuals are being killed in Mexico City. Aztec human sacrifice is still alive in 2014, scarily enough. Coatlicue is the mother of Huitzilopochtli and both demand the hearts of homosexuals.

Notvelty · Unread post by **Notvelty** » Wed Apr 23, 2014 2:57 am

Johnny Au wrote: Those two are why homosexuals are being killed in Mexico City.

I suspect that those two are a convenient excuse for killing homosexuals in Mexico City, rather than the actual reason.

On the subject of myth surrounding sacrifice. Is there any suggestion that Dragons were a symbol -against- fair, young virgins? Now, if they'd run off with young ladies who found it agreeable to express their free will in the form of extra-marital copulation, that'd be another thing. But wasn't being virginal rather the point?

Maybe we're looking at this the wrong way. Maybe mythical deity beasts now rampant in stone were actually all for.. well.. brunch?

We should totally ask Ashley.

The Joy · Unread post by **The Joy** » Wed Apr 23, 2014 5:28 am

I'm sure the trendy, tourist areas are the most protected in Mexico City. If ordinary citizens die of violence, that's not so bad. If foreign tourists die of violence, that's a disaster.

Fae (and everyone else) will be fine as long as don't draw unwanted attention to themselves. Learn some Spanish.

Me llamo, Ashley. Estoy tonto. Necesito ir en Gibraltar para hacer dinero por Wikimedia United Kingdom y yo mismo.

EricBarbour · Unread post by **EricBarbour** » Wed Apr 23, 2014 5:48 am

The Joy wrote:Me llamo, Ashley. Estoy tonto. Necesito ir en Gibraltar para hacer dinero por Wikimedia United Kingdom y yo mismo.

thekohser · Unread post by **thekohser** » Wed Jul 15, 2015 3:36 pm

Wikimania 2015 kicks off today (July 15) in Mexico City.

I found a mainstream media site that published 5 travel tips for Wikimania attendees.

Vigilant · Unread post by **Vigilant** » Wed Jul 15, 2015 3:46 pm

thekohser wrote:Wikimania 2015 kicks off today (July 15) in Mexico City.

I found a mainstream media site that published 5 travel tips for Wikimania attendees.

I lay 3-1 odds of at least one wikipediot requiring the services of the ER or the federal police.

thekohser · Unread post by **thekohser** » Wed Jul 15, 2015 4:02 pm

And because I'm sure that I'll get some critical feedback from someone, that I sound kind of racist by making Mexicans all sound like criminals, direct your wrath to the Wikimania host committee, okay?

The Joy · Unread post by **The Joy** » Thu Jul 16, 2015 6:22 am

Does anyone care about El Chapo escaping and causing mayhem?

thekohser · Unread post by **thekohser** » Thu Jul 16, 2015 10:57 am

The Joy wrote:Does anyone care about El Chapo escaping and causing mayhem?

Why do you think he escaped when he did? He knew he was only 40 miles from Wikimania!

mac · Unread post by **mac** » Fri Jul 17, 2015 11:43 pm

Has anyone seen these? Apparently they are passing out "Bingo" cards, on which are written the numerous buzzwords found in such an event. The ones that caught my eye were "don't use taxis from the street" and "security":

EDIT:
These are apparently the brainchild of Liam Wyatt, whose card includes "*audience member asks rhetorical question purely for attention*":

Source: link

(note: The only other thread on Wikimania 2015 seems to focus on gender, so this one seems a better fit. Split if you feel inclined.)

(edited)

thekohser · Unread post by **thekohser** » Sat Jul 18, 2015 11:57 am

If I were a speaker at Wikimania (ha!), I'd feel insulted that the audience had been systematically reduced to playing a game with my content. That's a pity. Oh, well. These things happen, I guess.

According to Twitter, it looks like they played bingo in Hong Kong, two years ago, too.

Poetlister · Unread post by **Poetlister** » Sat Jul 18, 2015 12:55 pm

thekohser wrote:If I were a speaker at Wikimania (ha!), I'd feel insulted that the audience had been systematically reduced to playing a game with my content. That's a pity. Oh, well. These things happen, I guess.

According to Twitter, it looks like they played bingo in Hong Kong, two years ago, too.

Obviously, if you (hypothetically) were allowed to speak, hte audience wouldn't need to play bingo.

Randy from Boise · Unread post by **Randy from Boise** » Sat Jul 18, 2015 2:52 pm

Ha ha, Greg Kohs Keynote at Wikimania Bingo Cards...

Instead of a free space, the center just says JIMMY.

(I'll be here all week, folks, don't forget to try the meatloaf...)

RfB

Unread post by **tarantino** » Sat Jul 18, 2015 7:14 pm

Caption contest!

Vigilant · Unread post by **Vigilant** » Sat Jul 18, 2015 7:33 pm

The marriage scene from "A series of unfortunate events" reenacted.