Wikipedia:Meetup

met the folks who make the wikipedia. An eclectic assortment of eccentrics to say the least. Most of 'em were cool kids, but there were a few who I am glad exist primarily in wikipedia form. One of the things I love most 'bout the wikipedia (and libraries and parks and other public places)is that everyone is welcome and no one, no matter how dirty/weird/scary, has any more right to be there than anyone else. I find non-discrimination against the unorthodox to range from pleasantly refreshing to hilarious. I thoroughly enjoyed being peers with them wiki folks.

Not the highest girl to guy ratio and I wouldn't like our odds in a gang fight, but some interesting opinions were shared and a few took the opportunity to vent long pent-up frustrations with what they assumed to be sympathetic ears. It was an enlightening evening and I am very glad I attended. Met a bunch of editors and administrators and someone from the Wikimedia Board of Trustees. That's right, within weeks of joining up with the wikipedia I was having drinks with one of the 7 board members.

Learned lots of insider information, heard rumors and gossip (wiki folks love wiki gossip), got some questions answered, and felt an overall sence of warmness and pride at being a member of such an unintentionally exclusive society.