On Thu, 28 Jun 2007, Robert Horning wrote:
I'm seriously interested in getting something going in the Western USA.... particularly in Utah. I even have a meeting room I can reserve in my hometown public library I was going to try and see if I could get some support from even one other Wikimedian to get a meet-up and help get something going in terms of a chapter in my part of the country. BTW, I live right near the Idaho/Utah state line, if you are trying to figure out where I'm at.
But as an FYI, there is some interest in a group based out of Philadelphia, and they have been trying to write up a formal charter named Wikimedia Pennsylvania:
http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Pennsylvania
This is not an "announcement", but something still being planned, but any participants are welcome. A formal proposal and announcement is supposedly coming soon.
So yes, there is some activity, but not necessarily on this list. I don't know if a national chapter is necesarily something we should consider, since it is such a tough nut to crack in terms of trying to get something organized on a national scale, but state-wide chapters may be something worth trying to go after like the PA one is likely going to have happen.
I'm surprised by that development, because I've been looking for some sign of organizing activity in the US. I heard that NewYorkBrad has been attempting to have monthly get-togethers in the New York area, that is invite a bunch of Wikipedians to visit a museum or other cultural event together, but the folks in Philadelphia have managed to stay beneath the radar until now.
I see the principal barrier to forming any US Wikipedia chapter is geography; we are just too thin on the ground to organize, a national unit, & perhaps too few in any one area to feed off of each other's energy. But I would very much like to be proven wrong about this.
Geoff (en:llywrch)