Talk:WikiSalon

WikiSalon vs Meetup

From the first line I don't understand how this is different from any meetup. Are you just saying that it's a meetup where people have network and perhaps power to edit from PC? Nemo 05:57, 30 April 2016 (UTC)

Good question Nemo bis. It's likely the answer would vary from one location to another, so I'll offer my thoughts not as "the" answer, but as something to help advance the discussion. I'd love to hear from others as well.

• I would consider the term "meetup" an umbrella term that could apply to any number of event styles (Edit-a-thon, Wiknik, party, lightning talks...) But when it's the only name applied to an event, my assumption is that it's just people with a common background getting together, with zero expectation. At a meetup, we might end up talking about what was in the news that day, playing cards, or getting drunk and telling stupid jokes. Or maybe talking about wiki. A salon, by contrast, has some intention attached. The amount could vary; but there might be a topic or activity set in advance, or a featured speaker to stimulate discussion. This is how we are approaching the en:Bay Area WikiSalon; I did not consider using the name "meetup," and I don't think it would fit; I don't think that would attract the kind of group we're seeking. The other name we considered was Wiki Wednesday (and that's how we approached Wiki Wednesday when I lived in Portland); but we decided against that name mainly because we don't want want to arbitrarily restrict it to a specific day in the future.
• In this discussion, MZMcBride characterized the meetups in DC as "formal, indexed and documented" and said that they include "eating and socializing and generally exclude editing/participation." That isn't my experience of a meetup (especially the formal, indexed, and documented aspect), but it seems that's a big part of why the folks in DC chose to create a WikiSalon series that is distinct from its Meetup series.

I'd imagine MZMcBride, Ben Creasy, Checkingfax, Slaporte, Ijon, Pharos, Bluerasberry might have interesting perspectives on this too. -Pete F (talk) 20:12, 30 April 2016 (UTC)

Hi, Nemo bis. WikiSalon is a neologism and a portmanteau so its definition is a moving target that has not gelled. Its roots are Wikipedia (or Wikimedia) and Salon which are each more defined with a dose of fudge factor thrown in.

For Bay Area WikiSalon the conceptualizers for a unique kind of wiki meetup decided on salon as being the most germane conveyance of their goals and wants. In my mind, a salon is a meetup, but a distinct subset. It is not "the meetup" but it is "a meetup". WikiSalon is a branding. Bay Area WikiSalon is a branding, but a subset of the WikiSalon branding.

By defining a WikiSalon people know what to expect, vs the generic umbrella of meetup. Saloning is a loosely defined way of engaging other people. Cheers! Checkingfax (talk) 20:51, 30 April 2016 (UTC)

One other point, perhaps (?) specific to the USA: I have found that "meetups" initiated in the Wikimedia world tend to be pretty focused on Wikimedia projects (and politics). By contrast, our WikiSalon series (and other events such as Wiki Wednesday) explicitly aim for a broader topic, and have benefited from the engagement of people from (e.g.) local wikis, WikiHow, Wikia wikis, AboutUs, etc. -Pete F (talk) 18:13, 1 May 2016 (UTC)

The Wikimedia NYC page on English Wikipedia describes the difference as follows: Monthly WikiWednesday Salons: A monthly community-focused event where we gather for a mini-unconference ... Event is held with a wider scope of participation and discussion than traditional Wikipedia meetups.

-Pete F (talk) 19:17, 1 May 2016 (UTC)

Syntax Q

Hi. What does this sentence mean? What is "this 2010 report"?

• This 2010 report uses the word "salon," though it may not be closely related to the idea of WikiSalon as expressed on this page.

Cheers! Checkingfax (talk) 21:12, 30 April 2016 (UTC)

I have now removed it. I put it there initially because it came up in a search on "Salon" -- but now that I read it more closely, I don't think it has any relation at all to the WikiSalon idea. (If I'm wrong, we can always add it again later. Perhaps Anthere can comment on whether anything like WikiSalon has been done in France or the French-speaking world?) -Pete F (talk) 18:20, 1 May 2016 (UTC)

Hmmm. Here is how I understand it. A salon is primarily a room in French. That is the room dedicated to receiving guests. Or the room where the family gathers to watch television together. This is slightly different in meaning from the US living room. There are things you do in a living room that you do not do in a salon. It may have a little bit of a formal atmosphere. Usually it is nicely arranged and hopefully the place to have bright conversation. I believe the right page to read when we think "salon" is w:en:Salon (gathering). Famous references were the meeting with a women host in the time of Diderot encyclopedia. With nicely dressed people, speakers, political plotting and the such.

In a funny way, the generic term I use all the time is not "meetup", it is events. Events englobe things such as "edit-a-thon", "upload sessions", "meet-up" (which are more nice moments to chat, perhaps in a bar), "press conferences", "photo hunts". So in my view, the bigger "case" is events. Meet-ups are a subset of events. Now if you look at details in meetups, there are clearly different types of meet-ups. And the case of the "quiet room" where bright conversation and organisation and info sharing can occur is pretty different from the case of "having a beer or three in a noisy, smoky, smelly but super cool bar". Both are meetups. And I agree using a different term looks like a good idea.

Now... in [1], the term "salon" describes something else entirely. A "salon" is also the term used to described these very big gathering, usually commercial, around a certain theme. Such as the big event around wedding issues. Or the big event around agriculture. Or the big event around Education. Or big event around "getting hired". And those, you meet mostly professionals with chair/table/leaflets, and visitors just wander around, asking for information, buying stuff, getting ideas. These are different types of salons. I do not remember how you call those in English.

In French... we often use the term "rencontres" (meetups) for rather formal events. Or Wiki permanences to describe these informal regular events where new people can meet oldbies. Anthere (talk)

Mark(ed up) for Translation?

Could this page be marked up and set for translation? @Peteforsyth: can you? @Pharos:? Thank you in advance! --Zblace (talk) 07:10, 31 December 2021 (UTC)