Wikipedia:Bay Area WikiSalon September 2017

The September Bay Area WikiSalon took place at the Noisebridge hackerspace. Following a brief discussion about Wiki Loves Monuments, the group took advantage of its small size (four people) and focused the time on discussion about goals and possibilities for the future of the Salon, and experimented with interactive activities involving Wikimedia. These interactive activities included: 1.) Going to the random file page on Wikimedia Commons, seeing if the image has a related Wikipedia article and, if so, if this image would be useful for it, and, if yes, adding it to the article; 2.) dramatic readings of excerpts from Wikipedia talk pages.

Both activities were followed by discussion that interwove with discussion of the structure and strategy of the Salon. The following are edited notes from the discussion:

Goals for future Wiki Salons
 * Removing barriers for new editors while remaining interesting for experienced editors
 * Interactivity - always include a group activity where attendees apply what they just learned, whether as a group or separately
 * Be a brave space that fosters empathy and welcomes open discussion, recognizing how the tools and philosophies of Wiki can be applied offline in ways that benefit society and ourselves beyond Wikipedia
 * Have a consistent structure that is conducive to inspiring more presenters and bringing more newcomers back to learn more about the nuances of wiki, in digestible pieces

Break things down to manageable pieces; short intros on wiki world

Discussed possible “modules” or sub-themes to use as a means to structure the goals of the Salon by considering what people are interested in learning in the vast wiki verse, and make it easier for people to imagine presentations they might want to give (e.g., an experienced editor who is interested in presenting but doesn’t have any ideas could look at a list and say “oh, I know a lot about AfD - I could present a short thing on that!”):


 * Local areas / Local Wiki - people like to learn about where they live, or where they have lived, things that connect directly to real life, and this is a good entry way into contributing to wikis -- share what you are familiar with, such as where you live..
 * Nuts & Bolts of Wikipedia - short presentations on some of the mechanisms/building blocks of Wikipedia world, which culminate in an interactive activity, such as:
 * AfD, RFC, etc.
 * How Commons works
 * Wikipedia Essays (what are they, look at some cool ones)
 * Intro to other Wiki projects like Wiktionary, Wikivoyage, Wikidata
 * Cool lists
 * Wiki’s international scope, how it works
 * Explain how different languages’ Wikipedias function separately (yet aligned by common principles)
 * How chapters work (and how they connect to languages)
 * Principles/Policies
 * What is a reliable source
 * Assuming good faith
 * Being bold
 * Roles on Wikipedia, how they function
 * What is an admin
 * Important role of offering input in discussions
 * Talk pages
 * How they work, what is their function, how to participate
 * Policies/customs for use
 * Forensics of a talk page
 * Wiki Love - how do we support each other, how can we do better, how does empathy exist and show itself on wiki, what is in need of improvement here

Removing Barriers for new editors Interactive activities related to the ideas, and nuts & bolts above is one way. Continue brainstorming new ways, seeking feedback from attendees about what does and does not work.

One editing-related group activity that was discussed via an anecdote from an attendee was a story of a group of Wikipedians from Japan who came to a meetup and led an editing exercise as follows:


 * People who have never edited before separate from those who have edited before
 * This group who has never edited before writes out content on a specified topic, using large sheets of paper, working together
 * The experienced editors then take this content and, together as a big group, attempt to translate the content to Wikipedia, walking the group through the process, explaining what can and can’t be added and why

Encourage/collaborate with new presenters Discussed setting some time aside at the end to talk with people who may want to present at future salons, give them an audience to practice their presentations, provide constructive feedback

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