A Wikiblitz is a type of Edit-a-thon where volunteer Wikipedia editors tackle one particular task together: improving a single article, fixing a whole category of pages, or uploading a whole photo collection. Complete beginners are welcome; training and troubleshooting is provided.
These wikiblitzes will focus on improving the article on kauri dieback. Kauri dieback is one of the most contentious and pressing environmental issues in New Zealand today, and it's important that there is unbiased, thorough, and up-to-date coverage on Wikipedia, the number-one information source on the Internet.
These events are sponsored by New Zealand Geographic magazine. A NZ Geographicstory by Rebekah White last year pointed out that kauri dieback didn't even have a Wikipedia article, which prompted Mike Dickison to create one as described here. The article is now a reasonable length, but need much more work to be comprehensive and up to date.
Boardroom 4, lvl 2, Generator, 22 Customs St East, Auckland
You'll need to come to the Generator Reception, and they'll show you to the boardroom. There is a very nice cafe and bar right next to it, in which you're also welcome to work.
Galbraith's Alehouse, 2 Mt Eden Road, Grafton, Auckland
Galbraith's have set aside a room for us, and there's great food and delicious beer on tap.
Editors who can't make it to Auckland are of course welcome to join in remotely. Email Mike at mikegiantflightlessbirds.com if you would like to Skype in and meet participants.
The Edit-a-thon is free and open to all. You don't need to be an experienced Wikipedia editor to take part. Anyone with expertise and experience of kauri dieback is especially encouraged to attend. There will be some Wikipedia training at the start of Session 1, but the focus will be on writing better content for the page and backing it up with good references. Wikipedians will be present to help newcomers make edits.
Laptop and power cord. Both venues will have free wifi.
Photos you've taken that could illustrate articles; you'll learn how to donate these to the Commons so other Wikipedia articles can use them. We especially need photos of signs, cleaning stations, the kauri dieback organism itself, and the effects of the disease on trees.
Resources that could be cited in Wikipedia: journal articles, news stories, magazine articles, and official publications. Some resources might be available online, and some won't: it doesn't matter.
We needs more and better photos of warning signs and boot treatment stations, including close-ups showing boots being cleaned properly.
If you're coming, try to create a Wikipedia accountbeforehand: don't wait until the day to do it! Here's a form you can use if you like. Creating an account makes editing much easier (here's more info on why you should). You'll need to pick a "handle" for your username; you could use your real name, but it's nice to have the option to be a bit anonymous if you want. Here's some advice on picking a username.
If you add photos to Commons so they can be used Wikipedia, they'll need to be free of any copyright or released under a Creative Commons license that lets anyone use them. If you're not familiar with Creative Commons, see Useful Links below. If you've taken photos and are happy to donate them, great! Bring them along. If you know of anyone who has good photos, approach them and ask them if they'd like their work to be seen and used by people all over the world (with them credited, of course).
Working on the kauri dieback Wikipedia page, Galbraith's, Auckland, 21 August 2018Working on the kauri dieback Wikipedia page, Galbraith's, Auckland, 21 August 2018
20 August: 3 people worked on article wording and references in the Generator boardroom. Jack Craw gave detailed feedback on inaccuracies in the current wording and suggested additional references
21 August: 9 people (4 experts, a journalist, and 4 Wikipedians) worked together on the article, first reading it through together and compiling comments, then breaking those into tasks and assigning them to experts or expert/Wikipedian pairs. Edits were prepared in sandboxes, added live, or emailed to Wikipedians along with references. Rebekah White supplied research and references from her magazine story on dieback. Bevan Weir was able to supply images and information from his own description of the organism; Bevan (User:Onco_p53) is also a Wikipedian so could add content directly. Mels Barton and Nick Waipara drafted timelines and accounts of the disease based on their research and conservation work, and had Wikipedians incorporate them and add citations.
10 photos added to Commons, most of them the own work of participants: cleaning stations, infected trees, microscope photos of the organism, and a picture for the taxobox
giantflightlessbirds.com if you would like to Skype in and meet participants.
