2015/Unconference

WikiConference USA 2015 • Washington, D.C.

Lightning talks

1. Add your topic here!

Session ideas

Beyond the edit-a-thon

Idea in one sentence

What are new models of meetups that go beyond the edit-a-thons that are our current mainstay?

Proposed by

Fuzheado (talk), User:Kosboot, others

Format

brainstorming, design thinking, two hours

Resources requested

projector, sticky notes, whiteboard, tables

Description

• How might we engage like-minded institutions besides our traditional GLAM partners like museums and libraries?
  • Go to academic or professional conferences with booths/clinics?
• How might we create a meetup that is branded better than "edit-a-thon"?
  • Edit-a-thon terminology. The more you think about the term "edit-a-thon" the more you realize it's actually problematic for outreach. What are do people associate with the term "thon?" A marathon is for an elite runner, where you need lots of endurance and training to participate. No novice would ever consider signing up for a marathon. Is that problematic in recruiting novice editors to come to a Wikipedia "edit-a-thon?" As for walk-a-thons, they are typically ways to raise money and makes an "ask" of ordinary folks to pledge money for each mile walked. Are Wikipedia "edit-a-thons," then, fundraisers? No they're not. My fear is that we as Wikipedians are so accustomed and close to the term edit-a-thon that we are blind to how it comes off for public outreach. I don't have a solution in mind, but I'd like to open the conversation about how we might do it better.
  • WikiClinic - allow people to come in for face-to-face "office hours" and experienced Wikipedians can give advice on BLP or articles with problems? Do this in partnership with professional organizations or academic conferences?
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Interested parties

• DocTree (talk) 21:19, 3 October 2015 (EDT)
• Sign here

Dead links and Verifiability

Idea in one sentence

How can we work with the Internet Archive Wayback Machine to automatically fix dead link/link rot problems on Wikipedia and what other Verifiability issues need solutions?

Proposed by

Fuzheado (talk), User:Sadads, Jake Johnson (Internet Archive)

Format

Collaborative generative conversation

Resources requested

tables, small room, Internet, power

Description

Link rot is one of the biggest problems in Wikipedia. Starting in 2015, the Internet Archive is watching the recent changes feed of Wikipedia to automatically archive the external links added to Wikipedia articles. We also have the beginning of a technical solution to this issue, through CyberPower's new bots. But how can we make the archival versions available for users and editors in a seamless and pleasing way? What kind of developer or community support do we need for this? What other issues, both technical and social, prevent effective longevity of citations and of our ability to verify the content in Wikipedias?

Interested parties

• Sign here

Wikidata edit-a-thon

Idea in one sentence

Hands-on editing of Wikidata.

Proposed by

Aude

Format

2-3 hours?

Resources requested

projector, tables

Description

• Help improve Wikidata, learn how to use some of the tools available like Magnus' autolist and find tasks to work on.
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Interested parties

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1. I would find learning more about some of the tools for editing Wikidata useful. Reguyla (talk) 15:52, 21 September 2015 (EDT)
2. Sounds fun and complementary to an hour-long Wikidata tutorial scheduled early Saturday. Count me in! Emw (talk) 19:20, 3 October 2015 (EDT)
3. Ditto what Emw said! -- Gaurav (talk) 00:22, 5 October 2015 (EDT)

OpenStreetMap map-a-thon

Idea in one sentence

Hands-on editing Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team (HOT) mapping.

Proposed by

Aude

Format

2-3 hours?

Resources requested

projector, tables

Description

• Help improve OpenStreetMap and specifically help with remote mapping efforts to support needs of the Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team (HOT). We will work on tasks using the HOT tasking manager [1]. HOT partners with organizations such as the American Red Cross and Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) and local communities in other countries, to support projects and emergency response efforts. There always are ongoing needs for mapping.

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Interested parties

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World's Toughest Wikipedia Pub Quiz

Jimbo tries to match up sock puppets in the fun and games session in the London 2004 meetup.

Idea in one sentence

A pub quiz about Wikipedia's community and quirks, in the style of the original 2004 London meetup quiz created by Angela Beesley

Proposed by

User:Fuzheado

Format

Tables and small room

Resources requested

Anything from simple microphone and paper, or projector if convenient

Description

The first ever meetup of Wikipedians in London in 2004 featured a detailed paper quiz created by User:Angela that has been lost to time. It featured questions about notorious vandals, sock puppets, edit wars and articles in Wikipedia that even User:Jimmy Wales found tough to answer correctly. In that same style, we could have a simple quiz with teams over lunch or as an independent session during the Unconference day.

Interested parties

• Sign here

Think Tank with Wiki Ed Board

Idea in one sentence

Think Tank with the Wiki Education Foundation board!

Proposed by

Pharos

Format

brainstorming, mini-proposals

Resources requested

projector, sticky notes, whiteboard

Description

Think Tank with Wiki Ed Board: Exploring how a community-driven partnership with academia on content policy can possibly expand the scope and types of knowledge represented in the encyclopedia.

Interested parties

• Sign up and learn more: Think Tank with Wiki Ed Board

Roundtable discussion about English Wikipedia culture, civility and friendliness

Photos from a previous rountable about multimedia

Idea in one sentence

Roundtable discussion about Wikipedia culture, and how to balance our values of free expression with the values of hospitality, civility and friendliness

Proposed by

--Pine (talk) 15:23, 28 September 2015 (EDT)

Format

Tables, Internet, sticky notes, white board, power, and projector. Probably a 2 hour block to allow for brainstorming, a SWOT analysis of English Wikipedia culture, goal setting for our culture, and how we can collectively make progress toward our goals.

Resources requested

See above under "format". Not sure how many people to expect, but estimate 30.

Description

Roundtable discussion and SWOT analysis of English Wikipedia culture, followed by goal setting about our culture and how to make progress toward our goals.

Interested parties

• --Pine (talk) 15:23, 28 September 2015 (EDT)
• Frank Schulenburg
• Bluerasberry
• EpochFail (talk) 21:01, 28 September 2015 (EDT)

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