Wikipedia:Meetup/Whanganui/2015 River Week Edit-a-thon

Whanganui panorama from Durie Hill Tower. Photos like these are contributed to Wikipedia by volunteers like you and me.

What's it about?

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An Edit-a-thon is an all-day attempt to improve the Wikipedia pages on a particular topic. Led by an experienced Wikipedia editor, participants learn to edit pages, correct mistakes, add references, and upload photos. Complete beginners are welcome; training and troubleshooting is provided.

When and where

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Timetable

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  • 09:45 onwards: Setting up, meet and greet, account creation if needed
  • 10:00–12:00: How to edit and create articles on Wikipedia.
  • Lunch break (a light lunch is supplied)
  • 12:30–16:00: Wikipedia editing. The theme is The Whanganui River and all topics connected to that, from history to the environment to fish biology.

What to bring

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  • Laptop and power cord. There is wifi and desktop computers you can use.
  • Any snacks and drink you want, but lunch and refreshments are supplied.
  • Any books, journals, magazine or newspaper articles relevant to pages you're interested in. There are local-history reference books and resources available too, including back-issues of Whanganui newspapers on microfilm and fiche.
  • Photos you've taken that could illustrate Wikipedia articles; local buildings and landmarks especially.

How to sign up

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The Edit-a-thon is free; we just ask that you sign up and make a commitment to coming, so we can plan catering. Register here.

Preparation

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If you're coming, try to create a Wikipedia account beforehand: don't wait until the day to do it! Here's a form you can use. Creating an account make editing much easier (more info). You'll need to pick a "handle" for your username; you could use your real name, but it's nicer to have the option to be a bit anonymous if you want. Mike's username is Giantflightlessbirds.

Read up on Wikipedia: there are lots of tutorials on the Wiki Wednesday Help page, like the Wikipedia Adventure.

Have a think about topics you'd like to work on. Check out their pages and see if there are obvious mistakes or problems. Maybe even do a little research first so you're prepared. Bring along references for information you want to add. If the topic you're interested in doesn't have a Wikipedia page, we could even create one. If you're stuck, there are lots of pages that need work: here are some suggestions.

Pages to get you started

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The Waimarie at anchor. This is actually a better photo than the one currently used on the PS Waimarie page. Anyone want to take an even better one?

Useful Stuff

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Attendees

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Add your Wikipedia username if you have one. Tip; you can just type asterisk-space-three tildes (* ~~~)

Outcomes

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Many thanks to the Alex on Ridgway for providing the excellent venue (even though we didn't get around to making them a Wikipedia page) and the Whanganui Digital Leaders Forum for providing lunch and refreshments for all participants. —Giantflightlessbirds (talk)