Wikipedia:Meetup/Atlanta/Atlanta 1


 * Date: 01/15/2011
 * Description: Wikipedia 10th Year Anniversary Celebration
 * Organizers: Herman Rengifo - Hrengifo
 * Meetup page: Wikipedia 10

Meeting Minutes
We had 10 people attend the meeting, one for each year of life for Wikipedia. From 11 to 1pm we were at the library and got to know each other. Then from 1pm to 3pm we hang out at the Nothing But Noodles place. See our FB Album here. Already one volunteer offered to show a few others some examples of editing a page. So we already started the meetings with participation by our members. We were originally hoping to give out some merchandise like T-Shirts, buttons and bumper stickers however due to the late request and Atlanta's weather freeze, we did not get any materials. This doesn't mean that we won't get any in the future but to improvise something, we had some prizes of our own for the attendees. Not a single person was dissappointed about the merchandise, they were just happy to be there and get out after probably spending most of this week stuck inside their house.


 * First and foremost, purpose of the group is to groom editors and contributors to Wikipedia. We are there to assist anyone on using Wikipedia. How the use it and what they post is their own prerrogative. The system is already in place to judge the quality of a submission.
 * We may get a consensus in how to start an official local chapter and do some investigation if one is in the works already.
 * Future meetings will reserve a room with a projector so that we can hold instructional classes, perhaps a key-note speaker and testimonials.
 * Instructional meetings will be sensible enough for newcomers, or even non computer-literate users. If you know how to write in any language, you can join our group.
 * Experienced users will attempt to guide others not familiar with the site and there will be plenty of opportunities for those who enjoy teaching, to share with others.
 * There is no hierarchy in the group, everyone is equal. Nobody gets paid, it's all a volunteer force. We have coordinators not leaders. We do everything by consensus with others.
 * Meetings will be at a commonly agreed place at the beginning of every quarter. The next meeting will be on Saturday, March 19th, 2011, place TBD.
 * There is a listserv (an email based subscription list) that a member has put together for those who wish to subscribe to the mailing list.

Volunteers

 * Herman Rengifo
 * Ganesh Krishnamurthy
 * Yash Kochar
 * Karthik Periagaram
 * Andres Avendano
 * Ruth Avendano
 * Manoj Agrawal
 * Brian Basden
 * Nassia Naban
 * Dan Todd
 * Paul Botsford

Links
Some attendees mentioned the need for some links to get initiated in editing articles and about the way Wikipedia works. The below articles are within Wikipedia.org or the sister sites.
 * The Five Pillars Five principles of Wikipedia.
 * Wikiversity.org Guided Tours Has some video tutorials (I recommend the QuickTime movies for better quality.)
 * The Sandbox A place where you can try editing without compromise.
 * The Community Portal If you are ready to get started, here is where you go.