On Wed, 21 Jul 2004 14:48:29 -0700, Jimmy (Jimbo) Wales jwales@wikia.com wrote:
So, I had this idea for something we could do as a part of a drive towards 1.0. We could get permission from a library or libraries in some densely populated centers around the world to gain admission during a holiday or weekend that they would normally be closed. We'd set up a wireless broadband network and bring together as many people as possible to work together day and night in a fun atmosphere to fact check articles and process them for final publication in a CD-ROM, with an eye towards print as well of course.
I like the idea of having the libraries to ourselves, and of symbolically being there when they would otherwise be closed. However, there would still have to be library staff, guards, etc. in the library 24/7 during this time -- a donation by the library, perhaps, but a significant one. ( 3 staff @ $14/hr for 72 hrs : $3k )
To improve our chances of having libraries agree, it would be nice to start trying libraries where many librarians are already Wikipedians or fans, and would be willing to donate some of their time. It might also help to use libraries that already have a wireless network set up...
Imagine (go with me on this fantasy here) 1000 people working around the clock with timeouts just to sleep and eat, for 3 full days, to fact check, copyedit, and approve as many articles as possible.
I like this fantasy, and don't think it has to be linked to a print edition -- as a general validation exercise, it has great appeal. However, having a mass of people converge on a library will inevitably involve some extra wear and tear; it might help to address that in any proposal to a library...
~sj~