Smell and Wikimedia
Welcome
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Smell is the ability of an individual to perceive a "scent" "aroma" or an "odor". There are "smell" related studies in virtually all human endeavour, there is smell in medicine, arts, culture, tradition, library, engineering and others. Smell is an important part of human experience, which can be better represented across Wikimedia projects. There is lots of opportunity to use all our projects to expand smell-related knowledge. Please join in and bring your unique perspectives.
Smell helps us (& others) understand the world, It can be subjective, but chemical signatures make it definable. It is diagnostic, it is relational (smells like), and varies from person to person.
Wikidata:WikiProject Smell
[edit]Post Wikimania 2024 we set up Wikidata WikiProject Smell - if you're a Wikidatan join us there!
Interested in getting involved?
[edit]Add your username here
- Lajmmoore (talk) 13:52, 8 August 2024 (UTC)
- Lirazelf (talk) 11:41, 9 August 2024 (UTC)
- Onwuka Glory
- DrThneed (talk) 09:33, 14 August 2024 (UTC)
- Saifullahi (talk) 09:35, 8 August 2025 (UTC)
- BnHamid (talk)
- Dnshitobu (talk)
- Macocobovi (talk)
WMUK Sandbox Session: Smell-related content
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Sandbox session Video on YouTube
Wikimania 2025
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We were blown away by the ideas from the audience in 2024, so are back at Wikimania 2025 with a new idea! Photowalks are a common activity within the Wikimedia movement. Smell-walks are similar but instead of using your eyes to find the subject for Wikimedia Commons you use your nose! We'd like to introduce the idea of the smell walk to attendees - we had wanted do to one in this session, but didn't have quite enough time. Watch the 45 minute presentation here, from 2:43:00 in https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-NYuHNruixs&list=PLhV3K_DS5YfLPVASK2MANk6wSHgWmbULz
Actions from the session
[edit]- Create a roadmap for smell, Commons and structured data i.e. this idea - volunteers needed
- Run a SMELL WALK anywhere in the world
Wikimania 2024
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Volunteers Onwuka Glory and Lucy Moore presented about the intersection between smell and Wikidata at Wikimania 2024. You can watch a recording of the session here (starts at time stamp). Notes for the session are on this etherpad.
Some of the discussion was based on this conversation around remodelling perfume note to 'smells of'.
Post-session ideas and actions
[edit]Glory and I wanted to run the session to start a wider conversation about how smell can be recorded better by our community. Since Lucy was onsite in Katowice, and Glory was not able to travel due to no scholarship, Lucy was the one who carried on many of the one:one conversations with attendees. We have recorded most of the points below, but please add more, either here or on the talk page. They are divided into actions, suggestions and ideas. Some were added to a google sheet in the session.
Actions
[edit]- Set up a Wikidata Project for smell (see) DONE (along with Wikidata item and Commons category) WikiProject Smell
Suggestions
[edit]- Point in time qualifier might be useful for some examples
- More smell-related events
- Odour file format (future format for Wikidata)
Ideas
[edit]- Smell and foraging/plant identification
- Fictional smells e.g. what does a snozzcumber from Roald Dahl's Big Friendly Giant smell like?
- Aromas in fiction - Proust's madeleine's, Charlie & the Chocolate Factory
- Differences between smell of fresh/dried plants
- "Smells like sex" common e.g. hawthorn blossom - ?what kind of sex is being referred to (presumably heterosexual)
- Washing powders
- House-mould can be good/bad in some situation (e.g. Finland)
- Sensory data in the future, e.g.: cinema experiences - that's why it's important to record smell now
- Add smells to wine on Wikidata because the smell profiles are established. A: issues with distinguishing the smell and taste of wine
- Coriander: some people like it, to others it tastes like soap. How do you manage how things smell differently to different people? A: Could add a qualifier e.g.: differences in coriander perception is due to genetic conditions
- Adding odour data for specific chemicals as safety data (exp. cyanide smelling like almond; gasoline odour) [from User:Peaceseekers]
- "For a future time when devices can emanate smell (like some cinemas already can do) we should be able to store actual smell files on Wikidata that can reach the reader and can be reproduced at their devices." [from User:Gereon K]
- (This is coming from an anosmic, so it might be not relevant) Could it make sense to mark if the smell is distinctive or mild? I hear it is fairly common. I imagine it to be a modifier to the property. [from User:czupirek]
- SNIFFER DOGS - what is the property for X can smell Y??
- Perhaps P366 has use could work, though something more specific would be nicer (will keep looking)
Beyond Wikidata
[edit]We invite editors from around the world to expand content relating to our senses of smell across Wikimedia projects.
There are a wide range of ways that the community can get involved:
- adding smell-related properties to items on Wikidata
- categorizing media on Wikimedia Commons
- expanding smell-related content on any language Wikipedia
- translate items like olfactory art or property smells of
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