hi, Please note this embargoed press release text. ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Moka Pantages <mpantages(a)wikimedia.org> Date: 10 January 2011 00:49 Subject: [WikiX-l] W10: Embargoed Press Release To: Planning for WP 10th anniversary <wikix-l(a)lists.wikimedia.org> Hi, all. In addition to the advisory here: We wanted to provide you with a draft of the press release we will send to press on January 13 630PM UTC. We will send an updated version which will include quotes form Sue and Jimmy then. Like the advisory, you are free to use however you like. You can add local information, take out information or use it as it is. How to use it: I think the best thing to do is start translating it now. Then, when we send you the final with Jimmy and Sue's quotes on January 13, it will allow you to translate those quickly and send to press then. To localize it further, you can include how many events are happening in your region and include details about them. If you participated in the fundraiser this year, you can insert information about how much you raised locally. If you have questions about how to localize, let me know and we can work on it together. -- Cheers, Moka Moka Pantages San Francisco, January 15, 2011 -- On this day ten years ago, a website with a funny name invited people everywhere to come together to create a free encyclopedia. The initial results were underwhelming. The article "Astronomer" simply said: "Scientist whose area of Research is Astronomy." Sweden: "Country in Northern Europe. Inhabitants are called Swedes. Language spoken is Swedish. Capital is Stockholm." Physics: "Physics is a very broad subject." Following these humble beginnings, Wikipedia grew quickly, and 1,000 articles were written in less than a month. Over the next five years, many new language versions were launched, and Wikipedia began to surpass traditional reference sources in breadth and depth. The secret to its success: anyone can edit any article. In January 2006, Wikipedia volunteer Gareth Owen wrote on his user page: "The problem with Wikipedia is that it only works in practice. In theory, it's a total disaster." Wikipedia is now consulted by more than 400 million people every month. It provides instant access to high quality and in-depth information, free of charge and free of advertising. In the last decade, a vast and unique global volunteer community has come together to create more than 17 million articles in 270 languages, advancing the cause of free knowledge for every person on the planet. Today, January 15, the Wikipedia community is coming together in almost 300 locations all over the planet to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the free encyclopedia. From a conference in New York to a concert in Prague, from the launch of a new school project in Nairobi to a museum bootcamp in Amsterdam, from a beer-meet in Bucharest to a film screening in Tel Aviv, the events are organized by volunteers and Wikimedia chapters, as well as independent supporters. The events are open to participation by anyone and reflect the diversity of the community. Wikipedia is operated by the Wikimedia Foundation, a charitable non-profit organization established by Wales in 2003. It is entirely supported by donations, and just completed the most successful fundraiser in its history, with more than 500,000 individual donations totaling more than $16 million. 415.839.6885 x 635 @moka _______________________________________________ WikiX-l mailing list WikiX-l(a)lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikix-l _______________________________________________ Wikimedia-in-mum mailing list Wikimedia-in-mum(a)lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-in-mum