Bay Area Wikipedians User Group

Bay Area Wikipedians User Group (Q136779909)

The Bay Area Wikipedians User Group (BAWUG) is an organization supporting Wikimedians and promoting the open knowledge movement in the San Francisco Bay Area, USA. We connect Wikimedians locally and globally. We help local organizations share their expertise with the public through Wikimedia projects. We empower the Bay Area’s diverse communities to participate in collaborative knowledge creation.

Join our mailing list, Discord or events. If you would like our volunteers to run a program for your organization or community, please email bayareawikipedians@proton.me.

Upcoming Events

Curious about contributing to the technical side of Wikipedia? Already contributing to MediaWiki or the Wikiverse? Join the WikiMediaWiki Workshop on May 3rd! Register here.
Join local Wikimedians and friends at our monthly Wikisalon on May 12th 2026 at 6.30pm. Come enjoy lightning talks, pizza and connect with the local community. Wikicurious folks and new editors welcome.
Join Wikimedians of the East Bay for an informal meetup over coffee and tea on May 23rd 2026 at 2pm. Wikicurious folks and new editors welcome.
Wiknic is happening on June 13th! Join our yearly potluck! 10.30am to 1pm at Mission Dolores Park. Register here.

Everyone is welcome to our meetups and events. We kindly request that you sign-up on the relevant event page so we can adequately prepare. All our events' attendees are expected to follow the Universal Code of Conduct. User:e mln e and User:ElanHR are our safety officers and can be contacted at any time to discuss potential violations.

We (generally) meet the second Thursday of the month. All events are announced here and on the mailing list. New editors are very encouraged to attend. Learn about upcoming events by joining our mailing list.

Become a Member

Wikimedians based in the Bay Area can become affiliate members by joining our mailing list or Discord. Some channels are open to all, but remember to type /auth to connect your Wikimedia account and gain access to the full list of channels.

Furthermore, you can become a voting member or organizer, by signing-up to volunteer with the user group at one of our events.

You can add this userbox to your profile to show your membership.

History and Governance

Wikimedians in the Bay Area have been organizing meetups and salons since at least 2007. There also used to be a San Francisco User Group which is no longer active. After an interruption during the Covid 2020 Pandemic, a new series of monthly meetups have brought contributors together to work on projects, exchange resources, help new users get started and find community and organize editathons. Starting a user group is a way to continue those efforts by having a structure for people to join. We have received a Rapid Grant in April 2025 to cover some of our programming costs. We are currently re-re-applying for recognition as an affiliate, after our Fall 2024 application was denied due to "lack of clarity in leadership roles and decision-making processes". We have since established a charter and formal voting process: see our governance page.