No maps for these territories

Contrary to popular and malicious rumors, I am not dead. I was just very tired after Wikimania The conferences (plural) went well. I feel relieved and happy that the first conference I have ever chaired (WikiSym) came off without major hitches. It was a rush, checking on every session, solving every registration problem, ending up [...]

Late yesterday afternoon I was seated on the Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees as one of the two chapter-selected seats. I am still a bit in shock. I was up on stage at the Board panel this morning; I am looking forward to conversatons all weekend. I have also been closing out WikiSym, which has [...]

I am a candidate in the Chapter seat selection process for the Wikimedia Board of Trustees. This is akin to an election, but it’s a closed process that works as follows. The community and chapters were invited to nominate candidates they thought should be on the Board (people could also nominate themselves). Then the the [...]

I thought I had posted the WikiSym CfP already, but apparently not. Reminder: the Research paper deadline is March 7, only a week away! the workshops deadline is March 21 And yes, this is the conference I am chairing this year! I am very excited to have WikiSym’s intensive research focus co-located with Wikimania, the [...]

This is a followup to my post from last June, exactly eight months ago, where I listed several things I wished would happen in Wikimedia, including better outreach materials, better communication with researchers, better event support, and reader feedback tools. To date, two items on the list has been fully accomplished — the books extension [...]

I spent a few days in October at WikiSym (short for “the International Symposium on Wikis and Open Collaboration“) — an academic symposium that focuses on all aspects of wikis and how they work. Topics include research into how large wikis such as Wikipedia work, the technical aspects of wiki software, how wikis could be [...]

I am in subtropical Northern Argentina in the winter, in Puerto Iguazu, watching a cat walk lightly across a red tile hotel roof, watching tourists by a swimming pool outlined with jasmine and palm trees, the palm trees adorned with small strangler figs. It’s cool in the late afternoon, after a rainy morning; my clothes [...]