Grants:Programs/Wikimedia Community Fund/Rapid Fund/Wikireceipt Machine Toolkit Creation and Workshop 2026 (ID: 23654226)
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Applicant Details
[edit]- Main Wikimedia username. (required)
~fjpaz-net
- Organization
N/A
- If you are a group or organization leader, board member, president, executive director, or staff member at any Wikimedia group, affiliate, or Wikimedia Foundation, you are required to self-identify and present all roles. (required)
N/A
- Describe all relevant roles with the name of the group or organization and description of the role. (required)
Main Proposal
[edit]- 1. Please state the title of your proposal. This will also be the Meta-Wiki page title.
Wikireceipt Machine Toolkit Creation and Workshop 2026
- 2. and 3. Proposed start and end dates for the proposal.
2026-01-16 - 2026-12-31
- 4. Where will this proposal be implemented? (required)
United States of America
- 5. Are your activities part of a Wikimedia movement campaign, project, or event? If so, please select the relevant project or campaign. (required)
Not applicable
- 6. What is the change you are trying to bring? What are the main challenges or problems you are trying to solve? Describe this change or challenges, as well as main approaches to achieve it. (required)
Traffic on Wikipedia is down 8% year over year, and the Wikimedia Foundation has announced a concerted effort to meet users where they are with Wikipedia content, even if it’s off-wiki. This includes short form vertical videos, WikiGameJams, in-person exhibits, or comedic performances (Depths of Wikipedia!).
Wikipedia’s brand and mission benefit from interacting with people “in real life” through interactive and tactile experiences. To this end, a tool that we’ve found to generate a lot of enthusiasm is the wikireceipt printer — a software and hardware prototype which retrieves Wikipedia article data and formats its text, photos and citations to output on thermal receipt paper.
Josh Pazmino gave a demonstration of his existing wikireceipt printer prototype during a WikiGameJam play night during WikiConference North America 2025, at Hex House in Brooklyn. It was embraced with great enthusiasm by all audiences present, wiki editors and artists alike. Senior editors asked for print outs of their favorite articles. Newbies chose topics they had read about before, or which they were simply curious to see printed on paper. Readers tried to find the longest articles they could (Final Fantasy was the record). One attendee and active Wikipedian said after printing some favorites: “this is the best wiki-related gift I’ve ever gotten.”
Right now, the wikireceipt setup is jerryrigged and very manual. Josh has to run commands from his laptop for each printout, and while the fundamentals are in place, the results are not perfect as it does not support tables, special characters, and other things that can be commonly found on Wikipedia articles.
Our goals include making the system portable, easier to use, and open for others to build on. We want to create a simple, standardized kit that nontechnical community members and engineers alike can use to experiment with a printed/tangible Wikipedia, including novel methods for interacting with and sharing output receipts. The ultimate goal is to bring Wikipedia into more physical spaces, where people can run into it in everyday life, interact with it playfully, and take a little piece of it home. People love Wikipedia merch, and a wikireceipt serves as a cheap yet novel option.
The code for the receipt printer command-line interface is open sourced, hosted on GitHub. With this grant, open source development would continue.
With the success of this project, ideally one day we can install wikireceipt kiosks in public places, similar to the Short Story Dispenser that became very popular in libraries and train stations about a decade ago. This kind of standalone machine is not realistic within a Rapid Grant budget, but we hope to generate a proof-of-concept that could move the ball forward for future work and larger grants, whether from the WMF or other funders.
- 7. What are the planned activities? (required) Please provide a list of main activities. You can also add a link to the public page for your project where details about your project can be found. Alternatively, you can upload a timeline document. When the activities include partnerships, include details about your partners and planned partnerships.
- Time for the developer to build out an open-source software package and web UI for the wikireceipt printer.
- Time for the developer to prepare a documented hardware kit for running a screen + paper-oriented UI for Wikipedia.
- Wikireceipt Workshop at Hex House for users and technologists to co-explore a paper-first Wikipedia user interface.
- Activity with Wikimedia NYC for locals to interact with the receipt kiosks and give feedback.
We expect these activities will promote a sense of play, joyfulness, and creativity around wiki participation, generating interest and feedback among developers, new and experienced Wikipedia editors, and readers interested in contributing ideas about how this project should evolve and grow.
- 8. Describe your team. Please provide their roles, Wikimedia Usernames and other details. (required) Include more details of the team, including their roles, usernames, Wikimedia group, and whether they are salaried, volunteers, consultants/contractors, etc. Team members involved in the grant application need to be aware of their involvement in the project.
- Josh Pazmino user:~fjpaz-net operates at an intersection of software development, independent research, and creative technology. He was born and raised in Georgia by immigrant parents — a mother from El Salvador and father from Ecuador. Josh studied Computer Information Systems at Georgia State University's College of Business for the better part of 5 years. He became enamored with receipt printers after learning about their role in the New York City creative tech scene through a NYC Receipt Printer Meetup group; within a year, he and his friends had 5 receipt printers between them. Josh has worked on several receipt printer projects and prototyped the wikireceipt printer in his spare time. (PAID)
- Melanie Hoff is an artist, organizer, technologist, and educator. They are a cofounder of Hex House, which hosted the immensely successful WikiGameJam NYC in Brooklyn in October 2025, driving most of the registration. (SEMI-PAID for VENUE)
- Kevin Payravi (User:SuperHamster): Kevin has contributed to Wikipedia and other Wikimedia sites since 2007, and is currently a co-organizer of WikiGameJam and creator of WikiAsteroids game that has gotten a lot of attention across the world. (Volunteer)
- 9. Who are the target participants and from which community? How will you engage participants before and during the activities? How will you follow up with participants after the activities? (required)
There are two primary target populations for this project:
- People who have never edited but recognize the wikireceipt printer as a way to bring Wikipedia into their daily lives; general interest Wikipedia readers who would be entertained by a kiosk that prints Wikipedia articles, taking it as an opportunity to learn more about how Wikipedia works.
- Experienced wiki editors who enjoy seeing and taking home a tactile manifestation of their contributions, and can give feedback on the user interface/experience over time.
Secondarily, we hope to inspire and contribute a public resource for creative technologists who might choose to hack on all things involving Wikipedia. The WikiGameJam NYC at Hex House brought more than 100 registrants and 75+ hackathon participants. The population for this kind of work is strong in New York City and perhaps beyond, which is why we want to build upon it.
Each printout's QR code (at the bottom of the sheet) currently points to the corresponding Wikipedia article URL. During public activations, printouts' QR codes will lead to an intermediary page where users can opt to provide structured feedback before accessing the article page.
- 10. Does your project involve work with children or youth? (required)
No
- 10.1. Please provide a link to your Youth Safety Policy. (required) If the proposal indicates direct contact with children or youth, you are required to outline compliance with international and local laws for working with children and youth, and provide a youth safety policy aligned with these laws. Read more here.
N/A
- 11. How did you discuss the idea of your project with your community members and/or any relevant groups? Please describe steps taken and provide links to any on-wiki community discussion(s) about the proposal. (required) You need to inform the community and/or group, discuss the project with them, and involve them in planning this proposal. You also need to align the activities with other projects happening in the planned area of implementation to ensure collaboration within the community.
This need for IRL wiki interactives grew out of conversations with the Wikimedia Foundation Future Audiences team in Spring 2025, which led to the highly successful WikiGameJam NYC in October 2025, where teams used various Wikimedia APIs to create a number of interactive games. Those digital games mostly used laptops and projectors, whereas the wikireceipt machine is the most tactile project in the WikiGameJam orbit.
The demonstration of the wikireceipt prototype at Hex House generated many ideas from local Wikipedians on how it could be brought to other in-person events.
The WikiHaus team thought it would be a great tool to have in its interactive activities for WikiCurious events or live conferences, and were curious how feasible it would be to prepare a simple, portable and affordable installation.
- 12. Does your proposal aim to work to bridge any of the content knowledge gaps (Knowledge Inequity)? Select one option that most apply to your work. (required)
Not applicable
- 13. Does your proposal include any of these areas or thematic focus? Select one option that most applies to your work. (required)
Open Technology
- 14. Will your work focus on involving participants from any underrepresented communities? Select one option that most apply to your work. (required)
Not applicable
- 15. In what ways do you think your proposal most contributes to the Movement Strategy 2030 recommendations. Select one that most applies. (required)
Improve User Experience
Learning and metrics
[edit]- 17. What do you hope to learn from your work in this project or proposal? (required)
We hope to learn:
- to what extent experienced and new-to-Wikimedia users are intrigued by the wikireceipt activations, and what thoughts and ideas they might have regarding the project’s state and direction.
- how much progress we can make in creating a kit that non-technical people can easily deploy and administer at Wikimedia conferences globally, or even non-Wikimedia conferences such as SXSW. These would use hardware like Raspberry Pis and tablets (cheap, portable options). The goal is potentially for individual Wikipedians to bring a fun activity at local events to publicize Wikipedia and recruit.
Ultimately, we want to build the hardware, software and community foundations for a fully standalone, self-serve wikireceipt UI + kiosk for future local and public engagement.
- 18. What are your Wikimedia project targets in numbers (metrics)? (required)
- Workshop organizer
- One adviser
| Other Metrics | Target | Optional description |
|---|---|---|
| Number of participants | 75 | 75+ people who interact with deployed kits and take home wikireceipt printouts |
| Number of editors | 30 | We expect 30 workshop participants for the wikireceipts, who will all create accounts, and do some limited editing. |
| Number of organizers | 2 |
| Wikimedia project | Number of content created or improved |
|---|---|
| Wikipedia | |
| Wikimedia Commons | |
| Wikidata | |
| Wiktionary | |
| Wikisource | |
| Wikimedia Incubator | |
| Translatewiki | |
| MediaWiki | |
| Wikiquote | |
| Wikivoyage | |
| Wikibooks | |
| Wikiversity | |
| Wikinews | |
| Wikispecies | |
| Wikifunctions or Abstract Wikipedia |
- Optional description for content contributions.
N/A
- 19. Do you have any other project targets in numbers (metrics)? (optional)
Yes
| Main Open Metrics | Description | Target |
|---|---|---|
| Wikireceipt activation: Total printed | The total number of wikireceipts printed at an activation. | 100 |
| Wikireceipt activation: Page actions taken | Actions taken on any given printout (e.g., traversing to outlinked articles). | 50 |
| Social Media Video | 1 social media video highlighting wikireceipt printouts and user interface | 1 |
| N/A | N/A | N/A |
| N/A | N/A | N/A |
- 20. What tools would you use to measure each metrics? Please refer to the guide for a list of tools. You can also write that you are not sure and need support. (required)
The wikireceipt software will keep a log of actions performed.
During public activations, printouts' QR codes (at the bottom of each sheet) will lead to an intermediary page where users can opt to provide structured feedback before accessing the article page.
Financial proposal
[edit]- 21. Please upload your budget for this proposal or indicate the link to it. (required)
- 22. and 22.1. What is the amount you are requesting for this proposal? Please provide the amount in your local currency. (required)
5000 USD
- 22.2. Convert the amount requested into USD using the Oanda converter. This is done only to help you assess the USD equivalent of the requested amount. Your request should be between 500 - 5,000 USD.
5000 USD
- We/I have read the Application Privacy Statement, WMF Friendly Space Policy and Universal Code of Conduct.
Yes
Endorsements and Feedback
[edit]Please add endorsements and feedback to the grant discussion page only. Endorsements added here will be removed automatically.
Community members are invited to share meaningful feedback on the proposal and include reasons why they endorse the proposal. Consider the following:
- Stating why the proposal is important for the communities involved and why they think the strategies chosen will achieve the results that are expected.
- Highlighting any aspects they think are particularly well developed: for instance, the strategies and activities proposed, the levels of community engagement, outreach to underrepresented groups, addressing knowledge gaps, partnerships, the overall budget and learning and evaluation section of the proposal, etc.
- Highlighting if the proposal focuses on any interesting research, learning or innovation, etc. Also if it builds on learning from past proposals developed by the individual or organization, or other Wikimedia communities.
- Analyzing if the proposal is going to contribute in any way to important developments around specific Wikimedia projects or Movement Strategy.
- Analysing if the proposal is coherent in terms of the objectives, strategies, budget, and expected results (metrics).