Location Discussion \\ __Discussion is closed. WikiSym 2006 will take place in Denmark in August 2006.__ -------- From the participants, three main geographical areas seem feasible: * US West Coast * US East Coast * Europe __Arguments pro/con US West Coast:__ * Easy to co-locate with OOPSLA 2006 (will be in Portland, OR) * Difficult/expensive to reach for Europeans * Since [RecentChangesCamp] will be in Portland it feels like location/region oversaturation __Arguments pro/con US East Coast:__ * Easier to reach from Europe, easy to reach from US West Coast, worst for Japanese * Some good places, but no conference known yet to co-locate with * (Co-location with Wikimania seems not to be an option) * Since [Wikimania] will be in Boston it feels like location/region oversaturation __Arguments pro/con Europe:__ * Easy to reach from US East Coast, difficult for the West Coast * Can be cheap for participants (at least some attractive places are) * Will demonstrate our international nature, will get Europeans involved * European Wikipedians who can't attend Wikimania 2006 will find an outlet * (Wikimania 2006 will be in Boston and too expensive for many Europeans) * "70 per cent of the world's open source developers are based in Europe" http://www.pingwales.co.uk/2005/10/31/FLOSS-Lisbon.html ---- 1 Discussion I think it would be nice to have it in Europe. I had been afraid that WikiMania would become "the de-facto European wiki conference" and that we would become "the de-facto American wiki conference". If WikiMania and WikiSym both switch continents every year then that is avoided. Unfortunately, I probably will not be able to attend next year if it's in Europe. But I still think it's the best thing to do. [Bayle Shanks] +1 on doing it in Europe in 2006, alternating with WikiMania, especially if Dirk promises to show me where to get that awesome Berlin chocolate. [Eugene Eric Kim] I also love the idea of Europe. Not sure I can commit to getting there. If I do, I'll be co-convening a [WikiTrainOpenSpace] to get there from somewhere else in Europe. [TedErnst] I think the switch back and forth between continents every year makes good sense. At the same time, I'm sad to miss a great opportunity to have it in my hometown and the birthplace of the original wiki (Portland) co-located with OOPSLA. I'll attend [WikiSym] in either place and will be co-convening a [WikiTrainOpenSpace] if it is in Europe. [BrandonCsSanders] I'll talk up wiki on my upcoming trip through South Asia - maybe WikiSym 2008 could be in Sri Lanka! --[John Abbe] +1 on Europe. Aside from anything else, it increases the chances of people going who have, um, issues with being treated like a criminal on arrival into the US. Also there's the matter of cost - I'd've loved to've come to WikiSym this time round but I couldn't've justified it for work, and on a personal basis I don't think I'd've been able to justify it. (That wasn't an issue in the end, I was speaking at EuroOSCON when WikiSym2005 was happening anyway :-) I added the pro comment for europe regarding 70% of open source developers. For me that's a compelling reason to have something in Europe. The cost reason is a good compelling reason for wikimania to happen in the US next year (something I was pleased to hear about). [MichaelSparks] John Abbe Dirk Riehle 2006-01-20 11:43:47.904 2005-11-08 05:54:41.872 comment-Location Discussion-1 Maybe I'm missing the obvious, but if Wikimania is in Boston, why not colocate with Wikimania? Do we really need two wiki conferences in 2006? If we do, it would be a real shame to miss out on having one of them in Europe. Especially if it's somewhere nice, like Sardinia (hint, hint!) -- CrawfordCurrie (moved by John Abbe from the 2005 wiki, where this conversation started) John Abbe John Abbe 2005-11-08 05:58:00.072 2005-11-08 05:58:02.592 comment-Location Discussion-2 We actually discussed co-locating with Wikimania at WikiSym. The conclusion was that both events would gain more if we alternated location and timing. Specifically, there will be a lot of (European) Wikipedians who won't be able to come to the U.S. Hopefully, they'll be able to make it to a Europe-based WikiSym 2006! Dirk Riehle Dirk Riehle 2005-11-09 10:04:11.504 2005-11-09 10:04:11.808