Talk:Meetup/London/156

Pinging all those who attended or were interested in the past meetups: User:Acalamari, User:Amakuru, User:Andrew Davidson, User:Baldmike, User:Berrely, User:BessieMaelstrom, User:Broichmore, User:Carbon Caryatid, User:ClemRutter, User:Cloptonson, User:Deb, User:Deryck Chan, User:Dreamy Jazz, User:Earthianyogi, User:Edwardx, User:Femkemilene, User:GhostInTheMachine, User:Girth Summit, User:Gog the Mild, User:Harrias, User:Hassocks5489, User:Icarusgeek, User:Johnbod, User:Joseph2302, User:Lajmmoore, User:Launchballer, User:Leutha, User:Llew Mawr, User:Mccapra, User:MeegsC, User:Mike Peel, User:Naypta, User:PaleoGeekSquared, User:PamD, User:Perfect4Life, User:Philafrenzy, User:RexxS, User:Rich Farmbrough, User:Rodw, User:Serendipodous, User:Serial Number 54129, User:Snowded, User:snowded, User:Stwalkerster, User:Thoughtfortheday, User:Trains2050, User:WereSpielChequers, User:Whispyhistory, User:Zeromonk

Hi everyone. I realise that pubs in England are open again, but I'm sure that many regular London meetup attendees (myself included) aren't yet comfortable visiting one for an extended period. So I think that this next meetup on 12 July should still be using Zoom, and am happy to host again. Usual drill: if you're interested please sign up on the meetup page and I'll send out invites on the day via Wikimedia email. the wub "?!" 18:01, 4 July 2020 (UTC)

Future London in-person meetups

Let's discuss plans for the return of in-person London meetups (including potential venue) on this talk page, and on the Zoom call for anyone who can join. We can make a break out room on the call if needed. the wub "?!" 18:01, 4 July 2020 (UTC)

Maybe we could meet in a London park a couple of times. Or a pub garden. Rich Farmbrough 21:09 4 July 2020 (GMT).

I'm not that keen on an indoor pub right now (and I'm sceptical about how good Wetherspoon's social distancing will be). Outside pub garden sounds good, or park would work in my opinion. Joseph2302 (talk) 21:52, 4 July 2020 (UTC)

Future virtual meetups

Personally I've also really appreciated the wider range of people who have been able to attend the virtual meetups, and think it would be nice if we continue them in some form. Perhaps continue the London in-person meetup on the 2nd Sunday of every month, and have a virtual UK meetup on the 4th Sunday of every month? I'm happy to continue hosting the virtual meetups, and believe that Wikimedia UK have a pro Zoom account too which could be used as backup in case I'm not able to host for any reason. Thoughts? the wub "?!" 18:01, 4 July 2020 (UTC)

Agreed. I enjoyed the virtual one that I managed to attend in May, and it's nice to see some faces that aren't usually there at the London meet. I do enjoy going to the in-person ones too though, so wouldn't want to replace them entirely. Your plan for 2nd and 4th Sundays sounds good to me, with the proviso that I can't be relied on to attend them regularly. I might come for several months in a row, or I might not. Amakuru (talk) 18:10, 4 July 2020 (UTC)

Likewise. Much as I like to see the old lags in London, it's great to meet other Wikipedians. I don't plan to travel into central London any time soon so I'd like to join Zoom meetings in the future and maybe think about coming to a f2f meeting in a couple of months, all being well. Mccapra (talk) 18:17, 4 July 2020 (UTC)

I'd agree! I'm a long way from London, but this appears to be the closest regularly active group. I'm unlikely ever to make it to a "real" meetup (due to distance), but virtual ones are certainly possible. MeegsC (talk) 18:22, 4 July 2020 (UTC)

I'm supportive of keeping virtual meetups- we could always rebrand them as UK wide meetups, seeing as we're getting people from all over the UK. But agree that in person will be good too, so having both at some point in the future would be a good idea IMO. Joseph2302 (talk) 19:07, 4 July 2020 (UTC)

The two have a different vibe, and I think we can do both in the medium term. Short term, though we could go back to the pub on the 12th, I would prefer to stay on Zoom. WereSpielChequers (talk) 20:03, 4 July 2020 (UTC)

I'd like both to continue. In person meetups are very expensive if you have to travel, not least in commute time, but do have benefits. Rich Farmbrough 21:08 4 July 2020 (GMT).

I also think it's good idea that both online and in person are offered.--Thoughtfortheday (talk) 21:42, 4 July 2020 (UTC)

I've only managed to make one BUT I really appreciate the virtual ones being held and would be keen to attend more! (Lajmmoore (talk) 16:26, 6 July 2020 (UTC))

Wikidatans in UK sub-meetup

One of the points raised at the last meetup was that some participants were very keen to talk about Wikidata but others not so keen, and so we should have a dedicated topical meetup for Wikidatans in the UK. Meanwhile, Andy Gordon who would've hosted Cambridge 43 made exactly the same suggestion in a completely unrelated conversation. RexxS, Charles Matthews - Any thoughts? Deryck C. 23:02, 4 July 2020 (UTC)

@Deryck: My impression was that several of the folks interested in talking about Wikidata wanted to learn about it from a start-point of not knowing much, so a dedicated topical meetup might be intimidating for them. I suspect that they may find a break-out for half an hour or so as part of a general meetup might be more interesting.

Nevertheless, I'm always game for a get-together, so why not arrange a virtual "Cambridge replacement" meetup for everybody who would like a dedicated Wikidata chat? WMUK have a second Zoom account that's available for general use, and there's no reason not to make use of it. Maybe Richard Nevell (WMUK) could fix up the Zoom if we asked him nicely. --RexxS (talk) 23:14, 4 July 2020 (UTC)

The default position, in the UK, on the agenda for a meetup is that there isn't one. This works fine if you regard meetups as essentially social occasions. I think that is an important function. Wikimedians wishing to meet other Wikimedians, whom they have encountered online, and finding out who they are IRL.

There are Python meetups in Cambridge, and one I attended was basically a presentation. I think this may be normal for the software communities: arrange for some concrete content, and fill a room with people. Doesn't rule out networking, which is another function allied to social gatherings.

I think that meetups in the US are more likely to be themed: have a presentation, or an announced editing area at least.

Wikidata, at present, is very good for attracting people we maybe don't know (developers, consultants, those working professionally with data, ...). It is perhaps not so good for those who regard Wikipedia as the Wikimedia flagship (true enough), and would like to chat to others who share the common language of AfD, RfA, AN/I and so on.

Turning now to Cambridge: the Andy Gordon contact became a call involving Magnus Manske, me and two other Wikimedians (Jo Brook and Edward Betts), with Andy and two others from Microsoft Research, addressing Andy's immediate interest in semi-automated and automated matching within the mix'n'match system. I followed up quite recently with Andy, and learned something about the work being done by Microsoft Research on Excel and Wikidata.

I have more recently been asked about a non-virtual Cambridge meetup of some sort. The latest version is a photo scavenger hunt based around the WikiShootMe tool. When the time is right, I'll go back to Andy Gordon about the postponed meetup.

For myself, I'd be happy to participate in some Wikidata call. I'll just drop into the conversation here the point that, in recent days, Abstract Wikipedia has been announced as a Wikimedia sister project. My take on it is this: If Wikidata is to infoboxes as X is to Wikipedia articles (all languages), can we solve the equation for X? This alone would be worth a call. Charles Matthews (talk) 08:03, 5 July 2020 (UTC)

I would be interested in learning more about Wikidata. I use a very small amount of it, and would like to understand more how it works and its usefulness. Joseph2302 (talk) 10:07, 5 July 2020 (UTC)