Wikimedia NZ

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Just a note from a Wellingtonian Wikipedian; I (and I assume others) would be really interested in hearing how discussion on this goes. In my spare time, I have held several workshops with teachers on the value of Wikipedia in the classroom. I think a more systematic approach to this kind of endeavour would benefit all of us (teachers, Wikipedians, + others). Perhaps a Wikimedia NZ would be the way to go, if so, I would like to help in whatever capacity I can. My suspicion is the skills required for it (public speaking, community outreach, teaching, promotion etc.) are not the same as those that make a good Wikipedian Lanma726 (talk) 06:57, 21 April 2010 (UTC)Reply

Funny(as in what a coincidence) you brought this up. After meeting the librarian at Auckland Library I came away wondering if I should offer to run some presentations to her and her colleagues (not only about WP but some other stuff on the Internet I think they should know).
Someone did propose The New Zealand chapter of Wikimedia Foundation as an agenda item for Wikipedia:Meetup/Auckland 3. However this wasn't discussed as proponent couldn't make it to the meetup. They are welcome to insert it as an agenda item for this meeting, providing they are able to attend & lead/guide that discussion. (though have noticed it hasn't progressed much since orig proposals in 2006 if one goes by some history of changes in the pages)
I don't think it is that daunting as there's jobs out there that require people to present to other workmates/colleagues or at conferences/meetings with clients. For example I have done presentations at conferences, run tutorials/workshops. Some were due to my previous life aka job as at Uni tutor/lecturer. I'd be happy to help out.
It may also be less daunting if more than one person run the session. Perhaps while the presenter concentrates on presenting and someone else is showing the editing by typing (which is shown on the screen). In fact this is probably the format I'd prefer as I am not an experienced editor. You can tell from my contribs that I seldom edit unlike some of you.
Do you have a writeup(or more) of your workshops? I'm thinking in terms of one or more the following:
* Lesson plan (or outline of what you covered in the session)
* What sort of format did you use? seminar (standing in front talking to many who listen) or tutorial/hands on with computer or discussion/interactive session or combination of one/more?
* How you gathered your audience/participants?
* Did you run multiple sessions (eg series of workshops taking teaching them the stuff) or did you just do one introductory session for each group(what is wikipedia, etc)?
* Length of session(s)?
* What worked and what didn't
I could go on about this. I'm sorry we didn't met in Jan. You met SimonLyall when we were in WLG for linux.conf.au. Sorry I couldn't make it to the meetup (can't remember now why - probably it conflicted with something/somewhere else I had to be). -Linnah (talk) 15:16, 21 April 2010 (UTC)Reply
The workshops I did were at two teachers only days for Malborough Boys College and Malborough Girls Colleges (they invited me back for a second one months later). I documented the slideshow I used here: http://www.slideshare.net/mattlane/teaching-information-literacy-with-wikipedia . The teachers were all sitting at computers so could fiddle themselves while I spoke.
I thought at the time, and still think, teachers are one key audience who need help with Wikipedia- they are developing a "Wikipedia is bad" reflex which is detrimental to everyone. I should have definitely recorded more notes on what worked and what didn't. Mostly they were really interested in the whole system, and wanted rules of thumb (they don't have time to carefully reflect on when Wikipedia is useful and when it is detrimental to students' learning, thus the appeal of simple rules like "Wikiepdia is bad").
I didn't know about the earlier discussions relating to Wikimedia NZ. Very interesting. Lanma726 (talk) 20:59, 25 April 2010 (UTC)Reply
Im keen to see if there is interest in a Wikimedia NZ. The main direction I'm coming from is asking people to release content (mostly photos) and the ability to ask on behalf of a real organisation would greatly help. - SimonLyall (talk) 11:28, 26 April 2010 (UTC)Reply
I might have mentioned it before, but a compelling reason for public sector organisations to release content under a liberal creative commons license is the NZ Government Open Access and Licensing framework (still a draft). -The Government wants its content reused (including commercially) by the taxpayers who paid for it. Lanma726 (talk) 20:22, 1 May 2010 (UTC)Reply

Pre/Post Meetup activities

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  • Photo/Info gathering

Wonder if we need some Auckland CBD photos for WP pages. Either more pics or better pics. We could build a list here of pics required. On the day, divide it among people who have brought cameras and send them to get the photo.

  1. Auckland Art Gallery need pic & info of New Gallery (cnr Lorne & Wellesley St E)
  2. St_Patrick's Cathedral, Auckland no pics. Do we want to add info on the restoration?
  3. Category:Squares in Auckland - Do we want to add page for Freyberg Pl & St Patrick's Square? Recently St Patrick's Square won an award and there's still info on the Auckland city website on the upgrade. Akl City list

Linnah (talk) 23:29, 19 April 2010 (UTC)Reply

Note This is very weather dependent.

Sounds alright to me. :) SS(Kay) 01:09, 20 April 2010 (UTC)Reply


Sample Meetup Invite

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If you know any Auckland Wikipedians or any Wikipedians wishing to travel Auckland for the meeting, please invite them. I (Linnah) have invited a few I've found via adding the following note in the user's talk page. Sample invite to copy and paste into bottom of invitee's talk page:

== Auckland Meetup 5 on 9 May 2010 ==

You are invited to NZ Wikipedians (in Auckland) Meetup 5 on the afternoon of Sunday 9th May 2010
at Esquires Cafe, Ground Floor, Auckland Central City Library, Lorne St, Auckland. 
Please see [[Wikipedia:Meetup/Auckland 5]] for details and RSVP.
Please watch [[Wikipedia:Meetup/Auckland]] to be informed of future NZ meetups. 
Look forward to seeing you there. - ~~~~

Five already?

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Five already? Wow time flies by, and clearly I missed number 4. See you all next month :) Mathmo Talk 03:24, 19 April 2010 (UTC) What's shocking is the time between 4 and 5! No idea why no one organised one since Oct 2008. Glad to see you can make it! Linnah (talk) 06:46, 20 April 2010 (UTC)Reply

Geonotice

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Shall we put up a geonotice, as we did for the Auckland 3 meetup? The system appears to be working again. It would probably pay to make it apply to the whole of New Zealand, as the most frequently used ISPs are not regionally based.-gadfium 20:10, 19 April 2010 (UTC)Reply

SimonLyall & I were discussing this last evening. We think it is a good idea BUT suggest request "Location: New Zealand". Reason is many ISPs no longer allocate by area as they did for dialup.
Would you like to put in the request or should I?
Auckland Meetup3 request Linnah (talk) 22:58, 19 April 2010 (UTC)Reply
go ahead.-gadfium 01:34, 20 April 2010 (UTC)Reply

Message: What should the geonotice message say? For example should we mention and link to the nz wikipedian noticeboard?

Current message draft: You're invited to the next Auckland meetup on 9 May 2010.
Additional txt to add?: Read & watch New Zealand Wikipedians' notice board on other NZ related issues when they crop up and participate in discussion. Linnah (talk) 06:59, 20 April 2010 (UTC)Reply
Yes, let's try the additional text and see if we get some new input at the notice board.-gadfium 07:57, 20 April 2010 (UTC)Reply

 

I just put in the request for geonotice. Sorry been slack and didn't do it before now. I did include the note to bring awareness of New Zealand Wikipedians' notice board. Do any of you think the following may need to be done:

  • A welcome to those landing on New Zealand Wikipedians' notice board for the first time and perhaps need guidance/encouragement to participate in NZ related wiki issues/pages? Nothing too big but perhaps a link to (a newly created) subpage for first timers or new to editing (and in NZ). The latter may encourage other experienced NZ wikipedians to help/mentor/guide new NZ wikipedians? or is this reinventing the wheel as there's already ppl out there who are ready to help/mentor/guide new wikipedians (NZ or not) and the links to articles for newbies will be the same as those likely to added for NZ newbies (except perhaps links to the NZ related pages). Broaching it here to get your opinion before I mention it in New Zealand Wikipedians' notice board
  • A note put in to Auckland meetup 5 page to (1) welcome them, (2) apologise for inconvenience if they aren't able to go to the meet (not in Auckland or busy), (3) ask them to watch Wikipedia:Meetup/New Zealand (currently redirected to Wikipedia:Meetup/Auckland) to hear more about future meetups elsewhere in NZ AND (4) Point them to New Zealand Wikipedians' notice board to encourage participation. Linnah (talk) 13:13, 25 April 2010 (UTC)Reply


Is it fun?

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All the agenda items are fine but I am wondering if it's hardcore work and seriousness or is there a bit of banter/inside jokes/socialising? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Ropata (talkcontribs) 04:15, 20 April 2010 (UTC)Reply

It's mostly serious, but relaxed.-gadfium 06:37, 20 April 2010 (UTC)Reply
.
I've not been to one where I've been bored to tears (or if I was I don't recall it now as I am writing this). I am not a regular editor/contributor and so didn't know any who have shown up when I was at the 1st meeting. At Wikipedia:Meetup/Auckland 3, a WP user (& friend of mine who edits even less than I do, if at all) attended and enjoyed being in the meeting.
A Meetup (of any online group) is an opportunity to put face to nick/handles/names of other editors that you've collaborated with or exchanged talk(comments) and get to know them. So they aren't just a bit of txt on the screen. There's of course some socialising as with any meetup.
WP meetups in Auckland aren't run like a serious board meeting. The agenda is there to guide the conversation along. Yes there's exchange of inside jokes/war-stories of stuff that happened in the background of some WP page content (the editing/vandalising/non-NPOV content). This doesn't end up in the summary.
The (serious?) discussion of agenda items is what ends up being written up in the summary. -Linnah (talk) 15:16, 21 April 2010 (UTC)Reply

Esquires at Auckland Central Library?

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Has anyone been to the Esquires at Auckland Central Library? On a Sunday? What's it like there? Would you care to comment on the food, service etc? Silly to ask now that I've selected & announced it as the meetup venue. I have been assuming it is like other Esquires. Linnah (talk) 00:51, 22 April 2010 (UTC)Reply

The coffee is very good, service is all right when busy, but really prompt when not. Which I suppose is like every other Esquires. I haven't had the food though, I usually lunch at the Asian food court when I'm in the city. SS(Kay) 05:56, 22 April 2010 (UTC)Reply

Mother's Day on 9 May

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Just realised last night that 9 May is Mother's day. Will it impact on attendance? Or can you schedule your Mother's day event to breakfast or dinner? OR should I now consider moving the meetup to Sat? Urgent feedback required. If I need to move the date it shoudl be ASAP! Sigh. Linnah (talk) 00:51, 22 April 2010 (UTC)Reply

Let's just go ahead on 9 May.-gadfium 01:17, 22 April 2010 (UTC)Reply
It's all right I think. It means I can go shopping for a present afterwards :). (Btw, I might be a bit late, I teach Sunday school in West Auckland till noon.) SS(Kay) 05:58, 22 April 2010 (UTC)Reply

Too late to change it now I would say (though personally I'm fine with it being changed or staying, either way). Mathmo Talk 13:10, 27 April 2010 (UTC)Reply

Archive of Meetup 5 plan not in writeup

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To Do or Bring

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  • Enter the Meetup in your diary/calendar so you don't forget! Add a reminder earlier on with alarm on your mobile phone/computer calendar.
  • Add your name to list(below) of Wikipedians planning to attend.
  • Add items to the agenda below of any topic you wish to discuss.
  • Name Tags: There'll be name tags available. However if you have one you've made for yourself or one you wish to use from a previous conference/event/meeting, please bring it along. Doesn't matter what the nametag was used for previously. At the very least the name tag should have your Name (with your WP Username added to it) clearly legible from 1.5m away. Our name tags are boring. They are just your name & WP username, written by you, on the back of an old business card and put it in a tag holder. If your name and/or WP username is long it may be crammed thus not clearly legible once written at back of businesscard.
  • Bring what you need to take notes with. ie Something to write with & on OR whatever electronic gadget you'd like to use for notetaking. Assume there's no free/avail power points and so your electronic gadget should be charged up.
  • Camera (photo): Bring your camera along. Not only are we taking pics to record the meetup, there may be an outing before (or after) meetup to gather photos. See discussion in the talk page if interested in this.
  • Cash/EFTPOS card. You'll be paying for your own food and drink. No fee required for attending the meeting. Those driving in may need coins for Pay&Display parking machines.
  • Esquires voucher: Check the back of supermarket receipts/bus tickets for valid Esquires vouchers. I've seen "2 drinks for price of 1" Esquires vouchers which could help stretch your $.
  • Invite other Wikipedians to the meetup! If you know of any Auckland Wikipedians (or Wikipedians willing to travel to Auckland for meetup), please invite them along. Template/Sample invite available in talk page for those who don't know what to write in invite.
  • There's discussion happening in the talk page . So click on the " discussion" tab after you've finished reading/editing this page.


Venue

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There's an Esquires Cafe on the ground floor Auckland Central City Library. Location is central, and easily accessible by people on public transport. As you know wi-fi is handy when we want to check something. Auckland Central Library has free wi-fi and that includes the cafe that is within the library.

If you have never been to Esquires before, this is a chain of cafes, similar to Starbucks. I haven't been to this branch before except to check out the venue. Unfortunately forgot to note what's different or available there. If it is like most other Esquires, here's what to expect. Tea: Organic Tea in teabag (not loose leaf) in pot. FairTrade Coffee available but you have to ask for it. Food available (sweet & savoury) in a cabinet. Hot food offerings are quiches/pies/paninis etc that can be heated via microwave or toaster. They don't have a full kitchen with cook/chef to cookup meals. There's also sweet & savoury muffins and scones. Other sweet stuff include cakes, slices, biscuits, and pastries.

Supervisor (on Mon 19Apr morning) told me we can just show up on the day. The cafe is fairly quiet on Sundays. It gets busier between noon and 2pm (lunch time). The cafe closes at 4pm (or just before) when the library closes.

If it is that busy, we can just meet quietly nearby until space clears up for us. Will take a scouting trip on Sunday 2 May 2010 to check out how busy it gets. Unfortunately just realised it is ANZAC Day on Sunday 25 April and the library is closed. So can't check then.

Alternative meeting place within library: IF it is that busy, the library has a meeting room on level 1, named Te Marama, that can be reserved for up to 2 hours for free. The room currently (Mon 19Apr morning) has no bookings for that day.

It has a long table, with chairs. Probably fit up to about 10 - 12 ppl. There's a whiteboard in there. It isn't sound proof and so we can't be too noisy. No food or drink BUT you can bring a water bottle in with you. I checked with my EeePC(netbook) and it does have wi-fi reception.

Check this page the night before (or add it to your watchlist). If we decide to meet in the alt space for the 1st 2 hours, I'll put the info here.


Who's planning to be there

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Please give your name (three tildes only) and an indication of how likely it is that you'll be able to make it. We can use it to adjust booking.

  1. SimonLyall I will almost certainly come.
  2. Linnah Will be coming
  3. gadfium Almost certain
  4. DerbyCountyinNZ Almost certainly at this stage.
  5. Mathmo Talk Am sure of it, I live around the corner and I'm noting it in my google calendar now.
  6. Epipelagic (talk) Will probably come
  7. Tayste quite likely, at least for the first hour or so
  8. Richard001 Very close to my place, will come for at least an hour or two
  9. Avenue (talk) Probably, only for an hour or two

Can't attend

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  1. Mattlore (talk) Pretty unlikely at this stage, but I'll keep track of the event
  2. Onco_p53 (talk) Sorry guys I will be in Glentui for a fungal foray.
  3. Anon Nope sorry.
  4. I'm afraid I can't come to this wonderful event =/ I live in Wellington, and its an expensive trip for someone with no time or money. Sorry.
  5. Ropata Quite interested, can't make it due to personal events
  6. Motorracer Sorry - got something else booked already
  7. {{Sonia|talk|simple}} – sorry. My dad can't be bothered driving me in :( I did end up coming after all... :P

Agenda

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Please propose items to be discussed. You can add to agenda at the meeting. However it does help to know ahead of time what's to be discussed.

  • Local Body Elections 2010
  • Articles with missing photographs
  • Wikimedia New Zealand
  • Getting monthly collaboration more active

Linnah (talk) 21:21, 11 May 2010 (UTC)Reply