Hello!
I would be very sad if Wikimania was to become only a Wikipedia Conference. I enjoyed the 2 Wikimanias I went to, because I could hear about different projects and imagine interactions between them. I think that Wikimedia projects can thrieve with help of the others and hope that we won't build more barriers betwen them as there already are!
As for the name, "Wikimania" doesn't seem offensive to me, but English is not my maternal language (French is). Perhaps it isn't descriptive enough for outsiders, but do we really want a lot of non-wikimedians at Wikimania? I presume this will be one of the questions that are to be discussed concerning Wikimania's future and goals.
Best regards,
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Edhral
To quote C. Scott AnanianI have no idea how to concisely include all the "Wikimedia projects" and still mention "Wikipedia" in the title... which suggests perhaps that Ed's version ("Wikimania: the global wikipedia summit") or whatever subtitle Lodewijk used isn't too far off.
maybe we are missing the target altogether, Wikipedia is our most identifiable brand, its what started the whole game and every other project in someway supports it. The bulk of all talks at Wikimanias are focused on Wikipedia activity. It could it be that when talk about reducing the size of Wikimania we could look in an alternative direction and focus on individual projects, the hack-a-thon has become a separate identity already, wikisource has held it own. This isnt saying that the conference wouldnt cover or cater for other projects as it already does but it would give us something broader to sell to the sponsors, venues etc by calling it the Wikipedia Conference it could then focus on the 300 languages, the work in the incubator, it would also create a greater immediate impact externally and encourage more people to come learn more and get involved, it'd be sellable to GLAM and media alike... Every one would have the ability to focus on the local language as a key platform
The Wikimedia Conference could then remain maybe even be expanded to enable more attendees focused as it already is on the movement
A Commons conference would be media based looking more at copyright, personality rights even equipment which would open us to whole new world of sponsors Imagine the people who could be a Key note speaker at a Commons conference that would otherwise bore the pants off every other attendee at a Wikimania.
each and every conference would run at its own rate annually, bi-annually, even one in four years choose locations that suit its own aims with scholarships for those that the community would really benefit from attending
Every conference would have cross over streams as no one project is isolated from any other, it would expand the focus and diverisfy the funding/sponsorship opportunities while addressing some of the key issues about the size of Wikimania, the way some sections of the community are lost and allow greater return on the brand identities of each project.