GerardM wrote:
Hoi, Make a distinction. I have never seen a "confederate flag" at any of the Wikimanias. So at the event everyone is very much welcome. The aim of a Wikimania is to bring people from all over the world together to talk wiki, wiki in any shape or form. It is a Wikimedia Foundation event so it is very much MediaWiki and WMF projects that is on the agenda.
The confederate flag issue is meaningless to most of us who do not live in the USA.
Yes, it is best if everyone feels comfortable in coming to a Wikimania. When Wikimania goes to the Middle East, it has not gone to Africa proper. When Anthere says in her speech that Africa should be on our agenda, it is a step towards Africa. We do not talk explicitly about many things. The reason is imho simple; it is not what we are there for. This is what others deal with.
The difficulty with a Wikimania in "Africa proper" could be the lack of high-speed internet. My observation from previous Wikimanias is that a significant portion of Wikipedians wander about wedded to their laptops. Imagine the neurotic behaviour of all these Wikipedians pacing the floor when they are unable to access The Net. :'(
Ec