Wikimania 2015: bids are in

Unread post by **HRIP7** » Sat Jul 18, 2015 7:34 pm

tarantino wrote:

Caption contest!

"You couldn't have gotten this sort of sartorial wow factor from Reverend Moon."

eppur si muove · Unread post by **eppur si muove** » Sat Jul 18, 2015 7:36 pm

tarantino wrote:

Caption contest!

JW: "I've had practice at this."

Vigilant · Unread post by **Vigilant** » Sat Jul 18, 2015 7:38 pm

tarantino wrote:

Caption contest!

Him, "Sure, I can help you with your BLP...what's in it for me?"

Her, "Kill....me..."

Randy from Boise · Unread post by **Randy from Boise** » Sat Jul 18, 2015 9:23 pm

I've got a good one but I have to pull this punch... I'm turning into a fucking politician..........

t

The Joy · Unread post by **The Joy** » Sat Jul 18, 2015 11:43 pm

tarantino wrote:

Caption contest!

In Wikimania
A thoughtful pleasure dome
Did Jimbo Wales decree

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File ... i_Khan.JPG

mac · Unread post by **mac** » Sun Jul 19, 2015 12:04 am

tarantino wrote:

Caption contest!

"Who farted?"

Unread post by **Midsize Jake** » Sun Jul 19, 2015 5:19 am

"The veil helps protect me from the torrent of horseshit."

Poetlister · Unread post by **Poetlister** » Sun Jul 19, 2015 9:28 am

The Joy wrote:In Wikimania
A thoughtful pleasure dome
Did Jimbo Wales decree

Can I just improve the metre?

In Wikiworld did Jimbo Wales
A thoughtful pleasure dome decree

SB_Johnny · Unread post by **SB_Johnny** » Sun Jul 19, 2015 12:34 pm

tarantino wrote:

Caption contest!

"Quick, somebody update jus primae noctis (T-H-L) to explain how wiki-god-kings fit in!"

Hex · Unread post by **Hex** » Sun Jul 19, 2015 1:13 pm

And there I was thinking that the era of weird jackets was over.

thekohser · Unread post by **thekohser** » Tue Jul 21, 2015 12:18 pm

A review of the Wikimania 2015 in Mexico City:

...too many Tequilas, too little sleep and just enough of dancing...

The Party was awesome. At a former church building, now some kind of government owned cultural place, there finally was Tequila (and they were not shy on it), many happy people and dance. Mood imrpoved after the DJ switched from Electro-whatever to Latin-Sounds, and oh it was fun. Worth every bit of pain I'm feeling right now

...I got a scholarship - thank you Wikimedia Deutschland...

...And I can't really say that I'm a Jimmy Wales fanboy: but by now, his speech at the closing ceremony felt like home: Yes, it was the same as always, yes, the slides were horrible as always and I'm still not sure about the value of choosing somebody more or less randomly as Wikipedian of the year.

Which reminds me -- does anyone know who was selected as "Wikipedian of the year" for 2015? It was obviously a thoughtful, arduous year-long process to make the selection, the evidence is sure.

Randy from Boise · Unread post by **Randy from Boise** » Wed Jul 22, 2015 2:41 am

Hex wrote:And there I was thinking that the era of weird jackets was over.

He does have a thing for those, unquestionably.

RfB

Unread post by **tarantino** » Wed Jul 22, 2015 3:08 am

Hex wrote:And there I was thinking that the era of weird jackets was over.

The jacket was a gift from an Uzbekistani wikipedian.

thekohser · Unread post by **thekohser** » Wed Jul 22, 2015 4:18 am

Looks like Jimbo forgot to actually select a Wikipedian of the Year 2015.

Unread post by **Zoloft** » Wed Jul 22, 2015 5:04 am

Wikipedia wrote:In pectore (Latin for "in the breast/heart") is a term used in the Catholic Church to refer to appointments to the College of Cardinals by the Pope whose names are not publicly revealed (viz., reserved by the Pope "in his bosom").

Vigilant · Unread post by **Vigilant** » Wed Jul 22, 2015 6:07 am

thekohser wrote:Looks like Jimbo forgot to actually select a Wikipedian of the Year 2015.

Also means he probably won't cut the check.

MMAR · Unread post by **MMAR** » Wed Jul 22, 2015 6:12 am

Possibly means it's been given to someone living in a country where they don't want their citizens editting WP? That's about the only sensible use of the word "retaliation" I can think of in that context.

Sitush · Unread post by **Sitush** » Wed Jul 22, 2015 6:42 am

MMAR wrote:Possibly means it's been given to someone living in a country where they don't want their citizens editting WP? That's about the only sensible use of the word "retaliation" I can think of in that context.

Not the only possibility. Think harder.

Poetlister · Unread post by **Poetlister** » Wed Jul 22, 2015 11:21 am

I don't think cardinals' names are kept permanently in pectore; it's just a temporary thing until the Pope gets round to releasing them.

thekohser · Unread post by **thekohser** » Wed Jul 22, 2015 12:02 pm

Sitush wrote:
MMAR wrote:Possibly means it's been given to someone living in a country where they don't want their citizens editting WP? That's about the only sensible use of the word "retaliation" I can think of in that context.
Not the only possibility. Think harder.

Richard Symonds, then?

Sitush · Unread post by **Sitush** » Wed Jul 22, 2015 12:10 pm

thekohser wrote:
Sitush wrote:
MMAR wrote:Possibly means it's been given to someone living in a country where they don't want their citizens editting WP? That's about the only sensible use of the word "retaliation" I can think of in that context.
Not the only possibility. Think harder.
Richard Symonds, then?

Any Wikipedian who has been working to reduce the gender gap and/or impose a tougher civility regime - both issues with which Jimbo aligns himself and, since they tend to be intertwined on en-WP at least, both quite obviously liable to lead to significant off-wiki harassment.

MMAR · Unread post by **MMAR** » Wed Jul 22, 2015 1:47 pm

I said sensible reason. What the anti-civility anti-gendergap people like yourself might do to the recipient, such as write an attack biography, is a whole other barrel of stupid, and shouldn't really come into the thought process. Better that sort of retaliation was dealt with through enforcement of existing policies.

Sitush · Unread post by **Sitush** » Wed Jul 22, 2015 3:28 pm

MMAR wrote:I said sensible reason. What the anti-civility anti-gendergap people like yourself might do to the recipient, such as write an attack biography, is a whole other barrel of stupid, and shouldn't really come into the thought process. Better that sort of retaliation was dealt with through enforcement of existing policies.

I'm in neither of those categories, nor are existing policies a good means of dealing with off-wiki retaliation. I explained why the possibility is sensible. There is a screw needs tightening somewhere, I think.

Unread post by **HRIP7** » Wed Jul 22, 2015 3:46 pm

Vigilant wrote:
thekohser wrote:Looks like Jimbo forgot to actually select a Wikipedian of the Year 2015.

Also means he probably won't cut the check.

I think he dropped the cheque a couple of years ago, didn't he?

In which case I'm not sure what the point of this award is any more: if the recipient doesn't get any money, and the name is not announced, what does the award consist of? Wales calling and saying, "It's you, but I won't tell anyone if you won't?"

tarantino wrote:
Hex wrote:And there I was thinking that the era of weird jackets was over.
The jacket was a gift from an Uzbekistani wikipedian.

Ah, the Uzbeks.

Human Rights Watch wrote:Uzbekistan’s human rights record is nothing short of atrocious. Thousands of people are imprisoned on politically motivated charges, torture is endemic, and the authorities regularly go after civil society activists, opposition members, and journalists.

Ihatemyusername · Unread post by **Ihatemyusername** » Wed Jul 22, 2015 8:43 pm

HRIP7 wrote:
tarantino wrote:
Hex wrote:And there I was thinking that the era of weird jackets was over.
The jacket was a gift from an Uzbekistani wikipedian.

Ah, the Uzbeks. Uzbek government
Human Rights Watch wrote:Uzbekistan’s human rights record is nothing short of atrocious. Thousands of people are imprisoned on politically motivated charges, torture is endemic, and the authorities regularly go after civil society activists, opposition members, and journalists.

fixed that for you

Does this Ochilov guy work for Uzbeki government? Because if not this seems like a very unfair point to make. Why should people who by no fault of their own were born under authoritarian regimes be treated as pariahs? (Apologies if he actually is a massive stooge of Uzbeki government or something)

Unread post by **tarantino** » Wed Jul 22, 2015 8:51 pm

Ihatemyusername wrote:
Does this Ochilov guy work for Uzbeki government? Because if not this seems like a very unfair point to make. Why should people who by no fault of their own were born under authoritarian regimes be treated as pariahs? (Apologies if he actually is a massive stooge of Uzbeki government or something)

According to his user page, he's 16 years old.

The Joy · Unread post by **The Joy** » Wed Jul 22, 2015 9:18 pm

tarantino wrote:
Ihatemyusername wrote:
Does this Ochilov guy work for Uzbeki government? Because if not this seems like a very unfair point to make. Why should people who by no fault of their own were born under authoritarian regimes be treated as pariahs? (Apologies if he actually is a massive stooge of Uzbeki government or something)
According to his user page, he's 16 years old.

If he's 16, how did he get into the Westminster International University in Tashkent (T-H-L)? According to its WP article, you have to be at least 17 to get in.

I doubt he's a stooge, though if you grow up under an authoritarian regime, you're raised to praise that regime. He probably went to Wikimania for fun and not as a James Bond for Islam Karimov (T-H-L).

Unread post by **tarantino** » Wed Jul 22, 2015 10:12 pm

The Joy wrote: If he's 16, how did he get into the Westminster International University in Tashkent (T-H-L)? According to its WP article, you have to be at least 17 to get in.

I doubt he's a stooge, though if you grow up under an authoritarian regime, you're raised to praise that regime. He probably went to Wikimania for fun and not as a James Bond for Islam Karimov (T-H-L).

He says he's in "the third course of Academic Lyceum". I'm not sure what that means, but it's differentiated from college courses.

Unread post by **HRIP7** » Thu Jul 23, 2015 12:33 am

Ihatemyusername wrote:
HRIP7 wrote:
tarantino wrote:
Hex wrote:And there I was thinking that the era of weird jackets was over.
The jacket was a gift from an Uzbekistani wikipedian.

Ah, the Uzbeks. Uzbek government
Human Rights Watch wrote:Uzbekistan’s human rights record is nothing short of atrocious. Thousands of people are imprisoned on politically motivated charges, torture is endemic, and the authorities regularly go after civil society activists, opposition members, and journalists.
fixed that for you

Does this Ochilov guy work for Uzbeki government? Because if not this seems like a very unfair point to make. Why should people who by no fault of their own were born under authoritarian regimes be treated as pariahs? (Apologies if he actually is a massive stooge of Uzbeki government or something)

Uzbekistan, like Kazakhstan, is still run by its Soviet-era president. Unlike Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan is dirt-poor: poorer than India or Nigeria, measured in terms of GDP per capita ($5,600 in 2014, about a tenth of the US GDP). Like Kazakhstan, the ruling clique appropriates much of the nation's wealth.

The chances of a 16-year-old Uzbekistani Jimmy Wales fan making it to Mexico, complete with an expensive-looking gift for Jimbo, without the approval or support of his government are slim. He says he got a WMF scholarship to attend, so perhaps they're not zero, but remember all the bullshit we were told about the 2011 Wikipedian of the Year, and how critical he supposedly was of the Kazakh government – despite working for it both before and after his Wikipedia fame.

These countries live and breathe propaganda. They perceive Wikipedia as something they must control, and Kazakhstan has shown them how it's done. If you want to believe in fairy tales, go ahead, but don't be surprised if the fairy tale has a conclusion you don't like.

(By the way, who is the fellow to the right of Wales?)

lonza leggiera · Unread post by **lonza leggiera** » Thu Jul 23, 2015 1:41 am

tarantino wrote:
The Joy wrote: If he's 16, how did he get into the Westminster International University in Tashkent (T-H-L)? According to its WP article, you have to be at least 17 to get in.

I doubt he's a stooge, though if you grow up under an authoritarian regime, you're raised to praise that regime. He probably went to Wikimania for fun and not as a James Bond for Islam Karimov (T-H-L).
He says he's in "the third course of Academic Lyceum". I'm not sure what that means, but it's differentiated from college courses.

Here's the WIUT's information page on its Academic Lyceum. I guess the Lyceum's own website will contain more information, but it was "down for maintenance" when I tried to visit it. There's also an FAQ page on the WIUT site, but it's written with cyrillic script, presumably in Uzbek.

Randy from Boise · Unread post by **Randy from Boise** » Thu Jul 23, 2015 4:10 am

HRIP7 wrote: The chances of a 16-year-old Uzbekistani Jimmy Wales fan making it to Mexico, complete with an expensive-looking gift for Jimbo, without the approval or support of his government are slim. He says he got a WMF scholarship to attend, so perhaps they're not zero, but remember all the bullshit we were told about the 2011 Wikipedian of the Year, and how critical he supposedly was of the Kazakh government – despite working for it both before and after his Wikipedia fame.

These countries live and breathe propaganda. They perceive Wikipedia as something they must control, and Kazakhstan has shown them how it's done. If you want to believe in fairy tales, go ahead, but don't be surprised if the fairy tale has a conclusion you don't like.

Reasonable take.

The name Ochilov is Russian, not Uzbek, for what it's worth. Of course there have been generations of ethnic blending and Russification in the old empire, best exemplified by Vladimir Ul'ianov (Lenin), who was an almost American ethnic stew of Great Russian, Volga German, Kalmyk, and Jew.

RfB

Unread post by **tarantino** » Thu Jul 23, 2015 11:01 pm

Wikipedia is censored in Uzbekistan. Nataev, who is a member here, is trying to route around it. He attended wikimania in London and wanted to give a presentation about it, but was turned down, probably because of a lack of interest.

Moral Hazard · Unread post by **Moral Hazard** » Fri Jul 24, 2015 10:26 am

tarantino wrote:Wikipedia is censored in Uzbekistan. Nataev, who is a member here, is trying to route around it. He attended wikimania in London and wanted to give a presentation about it, but was turned down, probably because of a lack of interest.

In 2014 he was associated with the Organization for Security and Co-Operation in Europe (T-H-L), when he submitted this in his abstract:

two main reasons that explain why the Uzbek Wikipedia remains underdeveloped.
First is the fact that the Uzbek version of Wikipedia, along with many other websites, is currently blocked in the territory of Uzbekistan.
Second is the lack of knowledge among Uzbeks about the existence of the Uzbek Wikipedia.
Active editors of the Uzbek Wikipedia have been trying hard to address both of these issues.

After finding out that the pages of the Uzbek Wikipedia can be accessed on an HTTPS connection in Uzbekistan, one of our users convinced Google to start indexing articles on the Uzbek Wikipedia with HTTPS by default.
To address the second issue, namely the lack of knowledge among Uzbeks about the existence of the Uzbek Wikipedia, we have been doing all we can to increase public awareness about our Wikipedia. Because of our efforts, more news articles have been written about the Uzbek Wikipedia in the last few years than in its entire history. Recently I convinced Radio Free Europe (T-H-L)/Radio Liberty (T-H-L)'s Uzbek Service to jointly write a series of articles about Wikipedia in general and the Uzbek Wikipedia in particular. So far we have published over a dozen articles. The articles have sparked much interest in Wikipedia and have been met with great enthusiasm.

Wikipedians (and young Liberal-Democrats embedded in the WMF or WMUK) have often been hostile towards U.S. institutions opposed to Russian totalitarianism, such as Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty. The Organization for Security and Co-Operation in Europe (OSCE) has few fans.

Puebla · Unread post by **Puebla** » Sat Jul 25, 2015 6:28 am

"Interesting" bits from the July 22 Signpost

Perhaps the biggest downside, according to Lih, was the lack of video recording; only keynote speeches were recorded, leaving attendees to do their best with limited equipment – many of them expressing outrage on the special Wikimania mailing list and Twitter at what they felt was an unconscionable oversight.

and

More interestingly, he said, "All the footage that the video team is shooting will be owned (copyright) by Wikimedia Mexico per their contract, so if there are particular clips you want later, contact WMMX."

thekohser · Unread post by **thekohser** » Sat Jul 25, 2015 2:02 pm

Puebla wrote:"Interesting" bits from the July 22 Signpost
Perhaps the biggest downside, according to Lih, was the lack of video recording; only keynote speeches were recorded, leaving attendees to do their best with limited equipment – many of them expressing outrage on the special Wikimania mailing list and Twitter at what they felt was an unconscionable oversight.
and

More interestingly, he said, "All the footage that the video team is shooting will be owned (copyright) by Wikimedia Mexico per their contract, so if there are particular clips you want later, contact WMMX."

The Wikimedia Movement is free, open, and transparent, right?

Randy from Boise · Unread post by **Randy from Boise** » Sat Jul 25, 2015 5:06 pm

Puebla wrote:"Interesting" bits from the July 22 Signpost
Perhaps the biggest downside, according to Lih, was the lack of video recording; only keynote speeches were recorded, leaving attendees to do their best with limited equipment – many of them expressing outrage on the special Wikimania mailing list and Twitter at what they felt was an unconscionable oversight.
and

More interestingly, he said, "All the footage that the video team is shooting will be owned (copyright) by Wikimedia Mexico per their contract, so if there are particular clips you want later, contact WMMX."

I saw that and was thinking about starting a thread about the Wikimania video situation.

A completely ridiculous situation. I've been keeping an eye on YouTube — they had up one of the video demonstrations of new translation capabilities WITH NO AUDIO. I subsequently found an alternate version with Spanish audio, so I followed along with that a little...

How can there be an annual conference of this magnitude, with hundreds of junketeers, AND NO HOUSE VIDEO CREW?!?!

Lots of phony baloney ethnic dancing from the opening ceremony, but no keynote speeches, no open discussions with the WMF Board.

It's really incompetent. I saw another snippet to the effect that the WMF staffer who was supposed to be in charge of the video was no longer with the company, which makes it even more incompetent.

RfB

SB_Johnny · Unread post by **SB_Johnny** » Sat Jul 25, 2015 6:32 pm

thekohser wrote:
Puebla wrote:
More interestingly, he said, "All the footage that the video team is shooting will be owned (copyright) by Wikimedia Mexico per their contract, so if there are particular clips you want later, contact WMMX."
The Wikimedia Movement is free, open, and transparent, right?

I'll split this thread later if nobody gets to it.

Does anyone know much about Wikimedia Mexico? This smells like WMUK all over again.

The Joy · Unread post by **The Joy** » Sat Jul 25, 2015 11:24 pm

SB_Johnny wrote:
thekohser wrote:
Puebla wrote:
More interestingly, he said, "All the footage that the video team is shooting will be owned (copyright) by Wikimedia Mexico per their contract, so if there are particular clips you want later, contact WMMX."
The Wikimedia Movement is free, open, and transparent, right?
I'll split this thread later if nobody gets to it.

Does anyone know much about Wikimedia Mexico? This smells like WMUK all over again.

Here's there translated site:

http://translate.google.com/translate?h ... rev=search

Oh, their president is the "ProtoplasmaKid" and has Wikipedia tattoos!

https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Usuario:ProtoplasmaKid

Their board appears to be very young, though it's hard to tell just looking at their user pages.

Unread post by **Zoloft** » Sun Jul 26, 2015 12:14 am

Information is emerging now on mailing lists and such.

Here is the slide deck Lila Tretikov presented: link https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File ... etikov.pdf[/link]

:unicorn:

Unread post by **Zoloft** » Sun Jul 26, 2015 12:34 am

Info still sparse and quirky.

People had problems with the wireless, lost umbrellas, and such, but looks like the stuffed animals had a meeting.
So they have that going for them.
:cat:

Vigilant · Unread post by **Vigilant** » Sun Jul 26, 2015 12:38 am

Still nothing on dealing with the biggest barrier to entry: People (admins typically) being jackasses to newbies.

Unread post by **Midsize Jake** » Sun Jul 26, 2015 12:45 am

How can there be an annual conference of this magnitude, with hundreds of junketeers, AND NO HOUSE VIDEO CREW?!?!

This is how it starts.

First, they ban the video crews and the video streams, then they ban the video cameras, then the still cameras. Next, they ban note-taking and written descriptions of any kind, and finally they require everyone who attends to be blindfolded. Advance scheduling is discontinued completely, and anyone who tries to sign up for a session beforehand is forced to play a 5-set tennis match with Roger Federer. Meanwhile, they're holding the conferences in towns like Mogadishu and Ulaanbator, then on to secret underground bunkers in Baku and Khavarovsk, and finally in a Chuck E. Cheese in Mecklenburg, North Carolina. Everyone who attends is required to sign first a non-disclosure agreement, then a total non-disclosure agreement, and finally a "totally stupid non-disclosure agreement." And as if that's not bad enough, the entertainment declines too - live bands for the Saturday night entertainment are dispensed with in favor of DJs, then muzak, and finally a guy with a DVD of Deliverance being played on an Acer Aspire. Attendance drops precipitously until finally only two actual Wikipedia users show up, one of whom is an AnonIP, and the other is User:Casliber.

SB_Johnny · Unread post by **SB_Johnny** » Sun Jul 26, 2015 12:51 am

Posted elsewhere

tarantino wrote:Francis Kaswahili, who ran for a spot on the board of trustees a couple of times, and submitted bids to host wikimania in Tanzania, was globally banned yesterday by the foundation.

20:10, 23 July 2015 Jalexander-WMF (talk | contribs) changed status for global account "User:Francis Kaswahili@global": Set locked; Unset (none) (WMF Office Action - For questions, concerns and appeals please contact ca@wikimedia.org)

Interesting timing. I wonder if he was in Mexico?

Unread post by **Zoloft** » Sun Jul 26, 2015 12:54 am

Group photo:

[/url]
Click for larger image and people tags.

Vigilant · Unread post by **Vigilant** » Sun Jul 26, 2015 1:14 am

Midsize Jake wrote:
How can there be an annual conference of this magnitude, with hundreds of junketeers, AND NO HOUSE VIDEO CREW?!?!
This is how it starts.

First, they ban the video crews and the video streams, then they ban the video cameras, then the still cameras. Next, they ban note-taking and written descriptions of any kind, and finally they require everyone who attends to be blindfolded. Advance scheduling is discontinued completely, and anyone who tries to sign up for a session beforehand is forced to play a 5-set tennis match with Roger Federer. Meanwhile, they're holding the conferences in towns like Mogadishu and Ulaanbator, then on to secret underground bunkers in Baku and Khavarovsk, and finally in a Chuck E. Cheese in Mecklenburg, North Carolina. Everyone who attends is required to sign first a non-disclosure agreement, then a total non-disclosure agreement, and finally a "totally stupid non-disclosure agreement." And as if that's not bad enough, the entertainment declines too - live bands for the Saturday night entertainment are dispensed with in favor of DJs, then muzak, and finally a guy with a DVD of Deliverance being played on an Acer Aspire. Attendance drops precipitously until finally only two actual Wikipedia users show up, one of whom is an AnonIP, and the other is User:Casliber.

I would go to a wikimania in Ulan Bator!

Maybe just not this year.
http://ubpost.mongolnews.mn/?p=15463

Unread post by **Zoloft** » Sun Jul 26, 2015 1:34 am

Opening video. Meh.

Randy from Boise · Unread post by **Randy from Boise** » Sun Jul 26, 2015 4:20 am

Zoloft wrote:Opening video. Meh.

Hokey pokey bullshit like this and costumed dancers and wedding video they can churn out. But where are the keynote speeches? Where is the actual content???

This whole thing stinks.

RfB

Vigilant · Unread post by **Vigilant** » Sun Jul 26, 2015 4:54 am

That video looks like something that a not quite successful children's cartoon would have as an intro leading directly to merchandising sales.

Cla68 · Unread post by **Cla68** » Sun Jul 26, 2015 5:06 am

If any of the presentations, video, or reports are in Spanish, post the text or links here and I'll try to translate.

Unread post by **Midsize Jake** » Sun Jul 26, 2015 6:26 am

Cla68 wrote:If any of the presentations, video, or reports are in Spanish, post the text or links here and I'll try to translate.

I was having a little trouble with this video...