Talk:WikiConference North America/2018

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Question[edit]

User:Fuzheado User:Rosiestep (basically names I recognize) If we drive up on Thursday night, and my wife and daughter (age two) comes with me, can they tag along on Friday even without registering for the main conference on Sat/Sun? My wife doesn't edit, and so it's just me on the weekend, and they're going to go do other things. If they can't we're not going to register them for something they mostly won't attend, and we'll just drive up on Friday night instead. GMGtalk 22:51, 1 October 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Also please ping. I don't watch meta. GMGtalk 22:53, 1 October 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Getting there from the airport[edit]

I am not happy about the following recommendation found at the conference Wiki: we recommend a taxi, Uber, or Lyft to your destination - starting at between $20-$30). Busing is also available, though will take up to an hour to get to campus.

This statement does not show any environmental awareness. Is one hour for a ride too much effort to attend a conference? You do not even bother to link to public transport or tell attendants wich bus or busses to take. And spending up to 30 USD for merely coming from the airport, is that affordable for all attendants? In case someone comes with a scholarship we should keep in mind that it's all donation money. --Gereon K. (talk) 17:07, 16 October 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Actually, we link to both the local city bus system and the bus system for the hosting institution, Ohio State University, and we provide a detailed list of hotels which offer free shuttle service to and from OSU as part of the accommodations. Columbus is a car-centric city, but we feel we have done our best to provide a variety of cost-efficient and environmentally-friendly transportation options, and we continue to add more information to that page as we get closer to this week's conference. Gamaliel (talk) 17:44, 16 October 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Userboxes[edit]

I have taken the liberty of creating userboxes for the conference, as I did back in 2016. Please feel free to utilize them, or edit them; they can be found here: w:Wikipedia:Userboxes/Travel-3#WikiConference North American 2018.--RightCowLeftCoast (talk) 23:09, 10 November 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Inviting you to participate in the women editing contest "The women you have never met"[edit]

Dear WikiConference North America!

Hope this message finds you all well :) On behalf of Iberocoop network I want to invite you to be part of the women editing contest we are organizing along with many other chapters and user groups in the movement. You are doing an excellent work on your local context and we will be so pleased to have you on board. In this very early stage, we are asking the organizations to add their interest in the following meta page Hope to see you there soon! Hugs----Anna Torres (WMAR) --Anna Torres (WMAR) (talk) 15:31, 25 January 2018 (UTC)[reply]

So, becoming a member...[edit]

I cannot seem to figure out what it takes to actually become a member of the user group... help? Montanabw (talk) 01:57, 28 January 2018 (UTC)[reply]

@Montanabw: You can add your name to the members section. hiàn 02:14, 28 January 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Share your feedback in this global Wikimedia survey[edit]

Dear Wikimedia Affiliates,
My name is María Cruz and I work for the Wikimedia Foundation on the Learning and Evaluation team. In one week or so, the Foundation is starting a global survey to learn about the experiences and feedback of Wikimedians. I am writing here, because I wanted to share with you a bit more about the project.
The survey is called "Wikimedia Communities and Contributors" and is conducted annually. We will send the survey to editors across all the Wikimedia projects, as well as Wikimedia affiliates and volunteer developers. This survey is going to be our way of making sure that we can hear feedback from a significant number of users from across the projects. This research supports editors and Wikipedia’s mission. This is our second annual CE Insights survey, and we look forward to improving it every year.
We will be contacting 2 people from each affiliate, based on the primary contact information that we have. Each affiliate will receive an additional third link which they can distribute to any leader in their chapter or user group.
Go to the project page to see the results of last year’s survey, and to see how your feedback helps the Wikimedia Foundation support communities. You can sign up to be notified about the results of the survey, or to learn how you can help with planning the survey next year.
If you have any questions or concerns about this project, please feel free to send them to Edward Galvez's talk page on Meta-Wiki or email him directly at surveys(_AT_)wikimedia · org in any language. You can learn more about this project and read about frequently asked questions. You can also share your feedback on Meta-Wiki.

Thank you for your time supporting this project!
María Cruz


MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 23:42, 19 March 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Learning Quarterly: June 2018[edit]

L&E Newsletter / Volume 5 / Issue 16 / June 2018
 Learning Quarterly

Stay tuned
blogs, events
& more!

Learning Quarterly: November 2018[edit]

L&E Newsletter / Volume 5 / Issue 17 / November 2018
 Learning Quarterly

Stay tuned
blogs, events
& more!

Wikimedia Summit 2019?[edit]

@Fuzheado, Rosiestep, and SuperHamster: I assume a discussion has been had and someone will be registering to represent this user group at the upcoming Wikimedia Summit 2019? I don't see anyone registered yet, and I just wanted to make sure this hasn't fallen off our collective radar. Thanks! -Another Believer (talk) 02:17, 4 December 2018 (UTC)[reply]

@Fuzheado, Rosiestep, and SuperHamster: An email sent by a member of the Wikimedia Summit Organizing Team suggests no one from this user group has registered to attend the conference yet. Do any of you know if there are plans to send a rep? -Another Believer (talk) 15:12, 14 December 2018 (UTC)[reply]
@Another Believer: Very late reply, but wanted to let you know that Andrew will be going on behalf of WCNA. Thank you! ~SuperHamster Talk Contribs 02:17, 24 December 2018 (UTC)[reply]
Great, thanks! -Another Believer (talk) 16:37, 24 December 2018 (UTC)[reply]

2018 Affiliations Committee call for candidates[edit]

This is an update from the Wikimedia Affiliations Committee.

The Affiliations Committee – the committee responsible for guiding volunteers in establishing Wikimedia chapters, thematic organizations, and user groups – is looking for new members!

The main role of the Affiliations Committee is to guide groups of volunteers that are interested in forming Wikimedia affiliates. We review applications from new groups, answer questions and provide advice about the different Wikimedia affiliation models and processes, review affiliate bylaws for compliance with requirements and best practices, and advise the Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees on issues connected to chapters, thematic organizations and Wikimedia user groups.

The committee can include up to fifteen members, roughly half of whom are selected every twelve months for staggered two-year terms. Those joining the committee during the current process will serve a two-year term ending in December 2020.

Key skills

Being a part of the Affiliations Committee requires communication with volunteers all over the world, negotiating skills, cultural sensitivity, and the ability to understand legal texts. We look for a healthy mix of different skill sets in our members, including the following key skills and experience:

- Willingness to process applications through a set, perhaps bureaucratic process.
- Readiness to participate in political discussions on the role and future of affiliates, models of affiliation, and similar topics.
- Availability of up to 5 hours per week, and the time to participate in a monthly two-hour voice/video meeting.
- International orientation.
- Fluency in English.
- Ability to work and communicate with other languages and cultures.
- Strong understanding of the structure and work of affiliates and the Wikimedia Foundation.
- Knowledge of different legal systems and experience in community building and organizing are a plus.
- Skills in other languages are a major plus.
- Experience with or in an active affiliate is a major plus.
- Strong track record of effective collaboration (such as evidenced skills at facilitation, mediation, negotiation, and so forth) are a major plus.
- Willingness to use one's real name in committee activities (including contacts with current and potential affiliates) when appropriate.

We are looking for people who are excited by the challenge of empowering volunteers to get organized and form communities that further our mission around the world. In exchange, committee members selected will gain the experience of supporting their world-wide colleagues to develop their communities as well as personal development in guiding organizational development, facilitating affiliate partnerships, and professional communications.

Selection process

As a reflection of our commitment to openness, transparency, and bilateral engagement with the Wikimedia community, the 2018 member selection process will include a public review and comment period. All applications received by the committee will be posted on Meta at Affiliations Committee/Candidates/December 2018, and the community will be invited to provide comments and feedback about each candidate.

At the end of the public comment period, the applications will be voted on by the members of the committee who are not seeking re-election, taking into account comments put forward by the committee's members, advisors, Wikimedia Foundation staff and board liaisons, and the community. A final decision will be made by mid-January 2019, with new members expected to join later that month.

How to apply

If you are interested in joining the committee, please post your application on the nomination page and send an email announcing your application to affcom@lists.wikimedia.org by 31 December 2018. Your application must include the following information:

- Your full name and Wikimedia username
- A statement describing your relevant experience, skills, and motivation for joining the committee.
- Answers to the following three questions:

  1. How do you think affiliates work best together to partner on effective projects and initiatives?
  2. What do you see as the role of affiliates in the Wikimedia movement in the next three years?
  3. What do you feel you will bring to the committee that makes you a uniquely qualified candidate?


If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact me and/or the committee as a whole. We are happy to chat or have a phone call with anyone about our work if this helps them decide to apply. Please distribute this call among your networks, and do apply if you are interested!

Best regards,
Kirill Lokshin
Chair, Affiliations Committee

Posted by MediaWiki message delivery on behalf of the Affiliations Committee, 06:25, 17 December 2018 (UTC)


Photos and videos of the conference events for re-use?[edit]

I haven't found anything usable yet except the group photo and some attendees' flickr accounts... Is there a spot where these will end up? Stanistani (talk) 02:08, 13 October 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Hi Stanistani! The conference photos and related media are being uploaded to commons:Category:WikiConference North America 2016; I'm not sure whether the videos will ultimately wind up in the same place, or if there will be a different location for them. Kirill Lokshin (talk) 04:19, 13 October 2016 (UTC)[reply]
Thanks Kirill Lokshin, I'll watch that category.Stanistani (talk) 08:31, 13 October 2016 (UTC)[reply]
Dear Stanistani Please check the category. Geraldshields11 (talk) 00:07, 30 October 2016 (UTC)[reply]
Thanks for the photos! I'd still like to see the videos for the sessions I missed, and to link them. I saw one for biological Wikidata. Any others in circulation?Stanistani (talk) 05:48, 7 November 2016 (UTC)[reply]
Kirill Lokshin and Geraldshields11 I am also waiting to see these videos. Thanks! 172.6.186.21 18:47, 10 March 2018 (UTC)[reply]
I have lots of videos sitting on a jump drive. I hear that other wiki-people have the same problem of making the videos but having trouble uploading them. I still want to upload these, 2 years old that they are. I talked with someone about possibly setting up a wiki video processing center, where someone who does basic video editing (cuts between speakers, typically) can do the edits and uploads in exchange for videos mailed by jump drive and a file telling exactly where to make the video cuts.
This is a big problem. Many people want the videos, the speakers go to a lot of work to script and present their talks, and a lot of this labor is being lost. I am not sure what to do. There are some other problems, like some people want to see their videos before upload and also upload probably always should happen in a personal logged-in vimeo account then transferred to wiki to keep full-size files. Blue Rasberry (talk) 13:43, 13 March 2018 (UTC)[reply]

2019?[edit]

Are there any links to share to public discussions about the 2019 conference? The possibility of a 2019 conference was briefly mentioned on the last day of the 2018 event, so I was curious to learn more about the current status. Any and all links would be helpful to this discussion, thanks! -Another Believer (talk) 20:58, 2 November 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Some of the following locations were suggested, from what I remember:
  • Mexico City
  • Michigan
  • San Diego
--RightCowLeftCoast (talk) 22:47, 2 November 2018 (UTC)[reply]
I had assumed Mexico City, based on some things I'd heard. I'd also plump for the Caribbean, because I think that's an area where we could foster a lot of collaboration.
I'm heading down to my alma mater right now, and am going to being putting out feelers there...if not 2019, then maybe 2020? (William & Mary would be the place.) --Ser Amantio di Nicolao (talk) 00:17, 3 November 2018 (UTC)[reply]

┌─────────────────────────────────┘
I'd support making this an annual event, and maybe think about WALRUS and the appropriate Mexican and Canadian groups to plan 2-3 years ahead. For 2019, I would suggest going west again; WCNA has been "east" for two years now, and three out of four years, as well. Perhaps consider a location we've not already been. Personally (and yes, for kind of selfish reasons), I'd like to nominate the Pacific Northwest; Seattle or Vancouver BC; or perhaps the San Francisco area. If memory serves, so far we've had: 2015: Washington DC (though that was WikiConference USA) 2016: San Diego, CA 2017: Montreal (just before Wikimania) 2018: Columbus, OH So anyway, there is probably an argument to be made for Mexico, but they hosted Wikimania not long ago. I'd say let's mix it up a bit. Montanabw (talk) 04:07, 4 November 2018 (UTC)[reply]

@Montanabw: Don't forget about NYC in 2014! I, too, like the idea of an annual conference, as long as there is enough volunteer capacity and willingness to pitch in re: funding, planning, logistics, etc. Speaking of funding, this is Step 1, and I'm not sure what discussions have taken place already re: funding for a possible 2019 event. Perhaps a steering committee or two can weigh in here? -Another Believer (talk) 21:30, 4 November 2018 (UTC)[reply]
Yes, the 2014 conference was awesome! Liz (talk)
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