Wikipedia is more than a reference source for me. I guess when you have written comments, and entire article over the years it becomes not their site, but “our” site. When I found out that on this Friday, there were events all over the world celebrating this landmark, I thought why not in our little city. I tried on Monday, writing to both the Mayor and a woman on the Council. The council person said it was the Mayor’s choice. This morning with a burst of enthusiasm I knocked out this email, this time to the entire council:
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Members of the city council
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"Sometimes good things fall in our lap, and taking the time to think about in depth means it's gone."
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While this sounds like the introduction to an email from a Nigerian prince who has a billion dollars that he must transfer to the U.S. that you can keep part of -- if you just sent $1,000 dollars to his account - today; it's really quite the opposite. This opportunity comes from the Wikipedia Foundation, and rather than being a scam to get your, or the city's, money, it is they who are offering use of their brand to the city in a given region that first grabs the opportunity.
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I had sent an email about this to the Mayor yesterday, hoping to avoid the procedures required by most government entities, so this is an attempt to reach the governing body, and just hope one of you grabs the toss. For those reading this, to be at all interested there has to be an appreciation, close to something much more, approaching a religious-like sense of wonder of how this internet-based utility has spread across the world. It has done this not by proselytizing a faith-based ideology predicated on trust of a spiritual or secular leader, but trust of a different kind, that the rare quality of community could be scaled up to include the entire world. This community does have a common principle, which is that there is a base of information encompassed in the body of the research, academic studies, books, and articles that can be the foundation of global accessible knowledge.
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Like a teenager who has learned much but still has challenges, on Friday, January 15th Wikipedia turns 15 years old. Certainly a precocious child, but facing questions of whether its very ubiquity and extensiveness of scope will place new strains that could lead to its decline. This anniversary is an occasion where scores of cities around the world will host an event, each one being different in content, setting and duration, some a social gathering of users, others sharing experiences, and others with sessions that teach the tools and principles of participation in writing articles. .
If Wikipedia were a profit making entity with this scope, the events of this Friday would be sold as a franchise, with cities bidding for the right to use the brand name, with restrictions on content and procedures dictated by corporate headquarters.
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However as a reflection on the spirit of Wikipedia, the foundation is providing free advertising, and a web page to describe the event that will be seen by millions of people in the next few days, probably a hundred thousand in driving distance to the Encinitas Library. The sense of what I'm referring to is at
this Home page, with more information on subsequent links. It just so happens that this facility, being owned by the city, is available for no cost from 5:00 PM on Friday, with the only requirement being a single staff member be on site.
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I'll include an edited version of the emails I sent to the Mayor and one member of the council whom I had worked with previously, to provide some details. If anyone wants to take the lead in procuring the Library, I can be reached today at my cell- xxxxxxxx, to answer any questions.
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Thanks for your consideration
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This time I got a reaction from the Mayor who said she would send this a staff member who would make arrangements. Wow. So ,I started writing us up on Wikipedia at the link above (San Diego County) and waited for the confirmation that the arrangements with the library had been made. And I waited, and waited. I emailed and phoned the Mayor and the staff member, and more waiting, until now City Hall is closed, And given the short time I had to organize this, I’ve now lost a half day of the two days I had in to begin with.
So, my enthusiasm is over, and at this point I feel I tried. And what ever made me think that there were enough people who cared enough about Wikipedia to hear people talk about it in a community room of a library?
O.K. so I vented, thanks for reading.