On Thu, Sep 27, 2018 at 12:46 PM James Heilman jmh649@gmail.com wrote:
The Wikimedia Conference is "closed" in that only those who are invited are allowed to attend. Wikimania is an open conference meaning basically anyone can attend, including those currently outside the movement.
This is a great point – in fact, not only has the mission of the Wikimedia Summit narrowed, the number of invite-only participants has shrunk as well to a basic allocation of one individual per affiliate, with the aim of having a maximum of 200 participants.
While I can understand the rationale of Cornelius Kibelka and the WMCON/WMSUMMIT team for this decision, and can endorse its direction, the fact remains that Wikimania being open to all and uncapped is a unique cornerstone for sustaining the community.
-Andrew