Project:Meetup/Philadelphia 2

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Archived

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820 S 47 St., (near 47th and Baltimore),
West Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
  • Who: Anyone who is interested. If you are interested in coming, add your name below with ~~~.

How to get there

I've created a page in my userspace containing fairly comprehensive directions for anyone coming in via public transport or automobile. --CComMack (t•c)

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Likely attendees

Headcount: nine. --evrik (talk 14:22, 3 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I think is actually ten; the 2nd bullet point lists two people. ike9898 16:56, 3 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Now eleven, hehe. --Galaxiaad 17:31, 3 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Possible attendees

Regrets

Post meetup summary

  • Tonight's wikimeetup was definitely a success. ImmortalGoddezz will be uploading a picture shortly. Total attendance was 13, a very good turnout I'd say. Ideas for future meetups are welcome, there will definitely be more! --TexasDex 01:35, 5 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]
  • Pictures:
Pic 1 is probably the worst, the picture came out too dark (the camera I'm hoping to replace in december) I've corrected the color, cropped, and taken out some redeye.
Pic 2 is better, full size no cropping, took out some redeye and corrected the color somewhat.

These were two of the best on my camera, I do have more on my phone and if any of those turn out acceptably I'll post them tomorrow. Anyway it was definitely an enjoyable evening and it was nice to meet you all. --ImmortalGoddezz 03:42, 5 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Press

When's the last time you did a Web search and didn't wind up with a reference to Wikipedia? Sure, facts are slippery, as anyone who does research will tell you. But is information valid only when it comes from the academy?

Being able to contribute and edit anonymously has its perils. Consider the politician whose minions touched up his bio. Worse yet are the petty hissing contests between geeks, deleting refs to one another in tech articles. But the beauty of the system is that the rascals get caught. And when Wikipedians sit around a table they laugh at the chumps.

Yes, Wikipedians do, on occasion, leave their computers and meet face-to-face. Bruce Andersen, aka "Evrik," posted an invitation to a Wikipedia meetup on a community e-mail list calling "anyone who is interested."

A baker's dozen of bright people turned up at West Philly's Abbraccio on Nov. 4, bubbling with enthusiasm and commitment to sharing their areas of expertise, absolutely free of charge. Aside from the two Drexel undergrads, "TexasDex" and "ImmortalGoddezz," who look after the cystic fibrosis articles, I felt like the only attendee not at least within shouting distance of a Ph.D. or J.D. For instance, "Ike9898" is a biochemical engineer who works for the feds, trying to find other ways to use cattle-rendering side products.

"Alteripse" shares an astonishing amount of medical expertise on Wikipedia, where he volunteers as an administrator. Conversation about jerks versus the Wiki led Alteripse to comment that just that afternoon he had to repair his puberty article twice. The discussion led to the question of clearing users for contributing and editing. Longtime members were leaning toward considering ways of qualifying editors, while newer members were on the side of staunch egalitarianism, eschewing hurdles for contributors.

"CComMack," who organized the meeting, is an out-of-state transplant like Evrik and Ike9898. CComMack founded the WikiProject Philadelphia page and all three have contributed articles on local history. He is also an actively contributing railfan, too, as is "Danntm." Danntm is in Temple Law School and volunteers on deliberative committees like "articles for deletion" and "requests for adminship." What does he write for fun? He is the keeper of Wikipedia's SEPTA flame. Why SEPTA? A wicked grin, then, "Because I'm a geek!"

Among the late arrivals was "Raul654," a Ph.D. candidate at UDel and, like many others present, holder of several volunteer offices within Wikipedia. As press liaison, he attends numerous conventions and local meetups where he dishes the dirt. Get him talking about suspected sockpuppeteers (multiple accounts for a single, usually warped, user). He also rattles off an alphabet soup of high federal offices from whose IP addresses Wikipedia edits have originated. While editors remain anonymous, the IP addies are recorded. People like Danntm, Raul654 and Alteripse are among those who decide where fun stops and an IP gets blocked.

The Wikepedians who met at Abbraccio love doing pro bono work. Evrik is a major cheerleader for Wikipedia, and here is why: "People have been writing history since they painted images on walls — Wikipedia is an opportunity for people to write their history as they see it. Anyone can help, and the more people that contribute the better."

(m_armstrong@citypaper.net)

The next Philadelphia Wikipedia meetup has been proposed for February. Visit en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Meetup/Philadelphia_3.


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