Hello Bay Area Wiki People!
I am excited to announce the 6th of the Bay Area WikiSalon series, which
several of us cooked up and have been coordinating. The last Wednesday
evening of every month (except December will be earlier in the month), we
gather Wikipedia and Wikimedia enthusiasts to collaborate, mingle, and
learn about new projects and ideas. Every other month we plan a brief
formal program. Some programs will help orient those new to the wiki world,
others will speak more to experienced wiki editors. We are working hard not
to make it a geekfest.
Our next event is Wednesday, September 28 at 6pm, at the Wikimedia
Foundation offices in downtown SF (see link below for full details).
We will have no formal agenda this month to allow people to freely
socialize, share ideas and perhaps learn about Wikipedia and Wikimedia
through hands-on editing. Co-organizer Ben Creasy will be looking at
election-related articles to enhance the information available in the
upcoming November elections.
Co-organizer Stephen LaPorte has suggested doing an upload-a-thon for Wiki
Loves Monuments. Niki, the California coordinator for WLM will be in
attendance. WLM is an annual event and the official deadline is Friday the
30th for submissions to count towards awards.
Or, you can grab a couch, a booth, or a stool and do your own thing.
Free Wi-Fi is available. Newcomers are encouraged to attend. Experienced
editors will help anybody requesting assistance. Bring a friend! We will
have beverages and light snacks (including beer and wine), provided by a
recent Rapid Grant from the Wikimedia Foundation.
* Please note: You *should* register here
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1cjLRrSTlEkGOPTQ-h6A0WvSFI4ZmIUl6jEHp_RYas-…,
and bring a photo ID that matches your registration name. The building
policy is strict on the ID point. If you forget to RSVP, please call me at
925-899-4051, or worst case show up and we will figure out how to get you
in :-)
All the details are here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Bay_Area_WikiSalon_September_2016
We look forward to seeing you there - and until then, happy editing!
-Wayne Calhoon (and fellow organizers Ben Creasy, Pete Forsyth, Stephen
LaPorte, and Julia Barbara)
P.S.: Any help spreading the word is most welcome! I plan to post on
various sites and invite various groups; if you'd like to join in, check
out this list, and feel free to note any you are inviting:
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Monthly_WikiSalon_in_San_Francisco#Announce…
PPS: Here is our planning page on meta if you want to dig in and help:
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Bay_Area_WikiSalon
Hello all,
Happy Wiki Loves Monuments month!
You may have already heard the exciting news that the US is participating
in WLM this year, for the first time in 3 years!
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Commons:Wiki_Loves_Monuments_2016_in_the…
The US campaign is organized around NRHP sites and National Monuments, with
sub-campaigns for individual states, which include state and other local
monuments, and are organized as state guides on Commons under the main US
WLM campaign.
I have started putting together a guide for California: https://commons.
wikimedia.org/wiki/Commons:Wiki_Loves_Monuments_2016_in_
the_United_States/California
We have many NRHP sites here in the Bay Area, as well as a number of SF
designated landmarks and monuments. And we also have a rich and fascinating
history in the Bay Area and CA overall involving the use of photography for
protection of our cultural heritage and natural wonders [1]. So I am
proposing that in addition to participating in the photo contest we also
work to improve Wikipedia's coverage of the monuments we have here and the
history of photography in documenting/protecting them.
Want to help/participate? Here are some possible ways:
- Go photograph some monuments in the Bay area and upload them via the
appropriate WLM upload wizard before the end of the month!
- Look through your photo archive and see if you have previously
photographed any monuments here in CA, or in other states (or participating
countries, for that matter), that you would like to submit/upload
- Improve/add to the CA WLM guide
- Create a guide for a US state that does not have one yet
- Help promote WLM US and/or WLM US/CA within your social networks
- Let me know if you are interested in co-organizing, or attending, an
edit-a-thon/upload event this month where we can upload photos together and
also improve Wikipedia's coverage of the monuments in our fine state and
their relationship with photography
- We could also include a photo walk outing in this hypothetical
event where we go on a walk together to photograph our local monuments!
- And any other ideas you may have!
Please let me know if you are interested in helping to organize anything,
or if you have any questions, or have any other ideas/pointers regarding
WLM (this is my first time even participating in it).
And stay tuned for updates regarding a Bay Area WLM-related event that will
hopefully materialize this month!
Cheers,
niki
[1] For example, Ansel Adams and the influence of his photographs of Kings
Canyon, CA in having the site designated as a National Park (as well as
other parks: http://www.pbs.org/nationalparks/people/artists/#adams;
http://www.csmonitor.com/1981/0806/080660.html;
http://anseladams.com/ansel-adams-the-role-of-the-artist-in-the-environment…
)
Of course, one could argue that a national (or state) park is not a
monument (which is a discussion worth having this month), but the notion of
photographs influencing legislation that designates a site as culturally
and socially significant enough to warrant protection is certainly relevant
here.