Wikipedia:Meetup/NYC/November-2018

Wikimedia NYC's monthly WikiWednesday Salon and Skillshare was held Wednesday, November 28, 2018, 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm at Fordham University's Lincoln Center campus (room 406) at 113 W 60th Street in Manhattan, near Columbus Circle.

Details

 * Date: Wednesday, November 28, 2018
 * Time: 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm


 * Location: Fordham University at Lincoln Center, room 416, 113 West 60th Street, New York City, New York. After checking in with campus security at the front desk, go straight down the hall and then go up the escalator.  On the plaza level, take an elevator up to the 4th floor.  Room 406 is across from the elevators on the right.
 * Subway: 59th St/Columbus Circle: A•B•C•D•1
 * Restrooms: are available on the ground level to the left after you pass the front desk. Restrooms are also available on the 4th floor behind the elevator bank.
 * Wifi: See Access to the Fordham WiFi Network for information on connecting to the WiFi network with your device on campus.

Summary
About 8 people were in attendance, half of them board members.

WikiWednesday as a responsibility of the Community Engagement Committee

 * As there was seemingly no planning for this WikiWednesday, the seven attendees began discussing the proposed “Community Engagement” Committee which would be responsible for organizing WikiWednesdays. People asked for more information concerning the process and organization of such a committee. A reason would be to relieve a single person of the responsibility of organizing WikiWednesday and have it more "automically" come about.  One person suggested using Trello as project management software to deal with the various committee tasks.
 * There was a discussion about organization of WikiWednesdays and whether the current format should be altered. People questioned the section devoted personal introductions.  With a few people it’s a nice way to get to know others.  But when there’s a substantial number of attendees, it can take up as much as half the time, crowding out the remainder of the program.  Perhaps when there are numerous attendees, we should do introductions for just first-time attendees? (maybe with officers and board members?) There was no resolution to the discussion but most agreed that a different way needs to be find to create a welcoming environment without introductions becoming the predominant feature.
 * Considering the questions concerning tonight’s meeting, the group felt that assigning dates in advance – even far in advance – is preferable . Proposed dates for the next six months:
 * Dec. 19
 * Jan. 16 or 23
 * Feb. 20 or 27
 * March 20 or 27
 * April 17 or 24
 * May 22
 * June 19 or 26


 * Several attendees noted that there are no-cost alternatives to BabyCastles, including at Fordham. It was felt that BabyCastles does not provide an optimal opportunity to engage new users.

Communication and social media

 * How can the chapter improve its communication to its members and others? Nearly all felt that the chapter could do a better job at using social media.  It was felt by some that restricting our efforts to one platform is not the way to go, and that just as people use a diversity of social media, so the chapter should meet people at the variety of social media they use.  For example, currently we use Meetup.com for events.  We should consider adding Eventbrite and other online meeting apps.
 * Since one of the chapter’s goals is outreach and to increase the diversity of languages, might it be possible to learn of the range of languages used at Fordham? (Was unable to be answered.)

Partnerships

 * As part of the discussion on the Partnerships Committee, the group explored what is considered a partnership for the chapter. What are they? What defines a partnership?  Is it merely working with an external organization, or is something more involved?  Does there need to be a written document confirming a partner?  Or is simply holding an event in or with an organization qualify as a partnership? Even if a partnership does not require a written document, many felt that some kind of document--if only for the chapter--explaining the nature of partnerships is warranted.
 * Rhododendrites talked about WikiEd partnerships and how they always entail a written document (because of the financial responsibilities involved). He also spoke about training scholars and WikiEd's new programs to train academics, and train them in using the Dashboard.
 * WikiEd will be using a partnership with the National Archives in Washington D.C. to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment as well as suffrage with various events.
 * Windblown29 spoke about future editathons/partnerships with Beacon and with SUNY-New Paltz. Also hopes to have a tap dance event with the Dance Division of NYPL in conjunction with a new collection currently being processed by them.
 * Fordham will be having an event on Dec. 6. They want to be able to have concurrent sessions at the Lincoln Center and Bronx campuses.
 * Perhaps there could be a collaboration during DH Week (Digital Humanities Week) February 4-8, 2019. Fordham as well as other institutions are collaborating in planning events.

Commons
User:jim.henderson spoke about his work on Commons. In particular is his work with locating images with have no categories, examining them to see what would be likely categories then adding them. He explained that there are plenty of categories which consist of images scanned from books but that the only category is something like Category:1875_books. Attendees were very intrigued and suggested he make a presentation at a future WikiWednesday.

Upcoming events
Additional events:
 * December 2 - Radical education in the 1960s and 1970s at Interference Archive
 * December 6 - Fordham University Wikipedia Edit-a-thon with AfroCROWD @ Fordham University Lincoln Center Campus
 * Save the date for some day in January - Wikipedia Day + Public Domain Day 2019

Regrets

 *  Blue Rasberry  (talk)  22:18, 28 November 2018 (UTC)
 * Did not see announcement until now.   Roman Spinner (talk • contribs) 02:41, 29 November 2018 (UTC)

Likely attendees

 * &mdash; Rhododendrites  talk \\ 19:35, 28 November 2018 (UTC)


 * Jim.henderson (talk) 19:39, 28 November 2018 (UTC)
 * Vyeh (talk) 19:59, 28 November 2018 (UTC)
 * Emjackson42 (talk) 20:12, 28 November 2018 (UTC)
 * (talk) I Love Pi Day 20:28, 28 November 2018 (UTC)
 * kosboot (talk) 21:08, 28 November 2018 (UTC)