Talk:Vancouver, B.C.

Please suggest venues for the Vancouver meetup below. The Interior 02:48, 3 January 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Potential Meetup spots

How about Cloverdale, Surrey? At the museum. -- OlEnglish 16:58, 3 January 2011 (UTC)[reply]

~~Which museum? (Sorry, my Surrey knowledge is very weak)~~ This museum? [1] The Interior 17:02, 3 January 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Yup that's the one.

vancouver public library

would prefer a location accessible to transit, and I don't really define anywhere in Surrey as particularly accessible. Our meetup in 2008 at Benny's Bagels on Broadway went pretty well, we had food and drink available there (beer being another reason to have transit available). It also happened to be 6 blocks away from my house, so I guess my !vote is gonna be meeting back there. ;) Franamax 20:08, 3 January 2011 (UTC)[reply]

And the Cloverdale Museum is a couple blocks away from my house! ;) -- OlEnglish 20:37, 3 January 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Transit is definitely a factor. Right now, it seems we have two Vancouverites, and one Surreyite. Hopefully it's not just the three of us(although that would be okay!), but I would lean towards a Van locale also. Benny's Bagels serves Crannog Ales, a fine brew from the (actual) Interior. The VPL is a viable, I think there is some sort of lounge on the north side ground level. The Interior 20:25, 3 January 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Transit is accessible to and from the Cloverdale Museum, it's just one bus from Surrey Central Station. But I'm cool with anywhere in Vancouver too. Since it is a Vancouver meetup after all. Anywhere they serve good ale is fine with me. -- OlEnglish 20:37, 3 January 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Just noticed that Surrey Museum is under "seasonal closure" til Feb. Looks like SkyTrain for you, Ol'English. The Interior 20:49, 3 January 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Ah ok. I'm fine with skytrain. -- OlEnglish 05:03, 4 January 2011 (UTC)[reply]

I'll also try to be there. I'm near Broadway. --Lambyte 21:57, 4 January 2011 (UTC)[reply]

As students back in 2006 my friends and I threw a party where we raised funds for "choose your charity." I printed a l list of a few nonprofits--Doctors Without Borders, Unicef, Wikimedia Foundation, and a couple others. Whenever someone would buy a drink, they'd get to add a mark to a list below one of the nonprofits. So for each drink bought, $1 would go to one of those causes. We got $300CAD for the Wikimedia Foundation that night. Have fun y'all!

Although I was mistaken about the Crannog, Benny's Bagels seems like the best choice. Will call to confirm tomorrow. The T-shirt are in the mail, according the Foundation. Funny, that's what they said about my cheque. The Interior 04:35, 5 January 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Benny's Bagels sounds good to me; I'll be there! (what time?) 24.84.9.97 20:20, 5 January 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Benny's Bagels will have us, I will set this as our confirmed location, time is 7:30? It's a Saturday, does this time sound good? The Interior 21:01, 5 January 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Sounds good to me! 24.84.9.97 22:07, 5 January 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Sounds perfect. 24.84.9.97, who are you? :) I mean, do you have a username on enwiki or do you always edit as an IP? -- OlEnglish 16:56, 6 January 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Ack; yes, I'm an editor on enwiki, but it turns out I'll be away all weekend, so I won't be able to make it after all.. Have fun, though. 24.84.9.97 16:57, 10 January 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Are we sure that Benny's is at 2505 W Broadway? ~~I checked the google map, and searching for benny's bagels does not show one there. Also,~~ I tried streetview, and couldn't see one.--Lambyte 22:45, 15 January 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Activities

Maybe I missed this somewhere, but what exactly are we going to be doing there? And is it all free? Can anyone attend? --The High Fin Sperm Whale 21:21, 5 January 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Eat, drink, and be merry! I assume consumables aren't free, but attendance is - wooot!! Partaaaaayy!! 24.84.9.97 22:07, 5 January 2011 (UTC)[reply]

It is free, anyone can attend, Foundation is not covering consumables, but are providing T-shirts, buttons, stickers. The Interior 22:54, 5 January 2011 (UTC)[reply]

This is going to be awesome. --Lambyte 10:07, 7 January 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Benny's Bagels is licensed to serve alcohol but majority age is not required. It is a casual spot and serves, well, bagels in various incarnations. Based on the last time, we are going to be mostly discussing our various interests and experiances editing en:wiki and sister projects, and just getting to know one another. If anyone has specific items they are thinking about raising, this is a good place to give a heads up so people can be thinking about them in advance - but I think we will do things pretty informally. I can think of 3 items of interest:

A Skype channel: there are a grillion can:wiki'ers out there, not all of whom shovel rain off their driveway in the morning at this time of year. If someone wants to carry the ball to supply a channel, it could work out well. This would involve supplying a good laptop (which I cannot do) and ideally going to the location beforehand to test a Skype meeting (which I can be a client of and even jog over to troubleshoot).
Status of WMF Canada, assuming such is anywhere close to existence. This would need someone familiar with what is happening lately with getting a chapter up and running.
An interesting point Skookum1 raised in that regard, outreach to various promotional organizations such as CofC's, tourist boards, etc. to direct their efforts toward Wikitravel rather than en:wiki, and/or let them know what are the rather stricter requirements to contribute at en:wiki.

Would 6:30 PM work better or worse than 7:30? Benny's has(/had) pool tables upstairs, so presumably they get a later crowd. We want to be there when we are dominant and can ask for the music to be turned down etc. Franamax 06:50, 6 January 2011 (UTC)[reply]

I agree about pushing the time up a bit. 6:30 would allow people with other plans later to still drop by. I like the activity suggestions, I also am desktop-bound - are there any laptop owners who would be able to bring their unit and co-ordinate with Franamax for some Skyping? The foundation has put together a video starring (guess who?) Jimmy Wales, with a laptop we would be able to view this together and make snide remarks. The Interior 23:15, 6 January 2011 (UTC)[reply]

I just got a Vista laptop. It will arrive a day before the conference, but I have never used Skype and I won't be pre-installed. It would be wise to bring another laptop. --The High Fin Sperm Whale 19:03, 7 January 2011 (UTC)[reply]

In my experience, Skype is very easy to set up. If you're comfortable bringing it, it would probably work (although we could use a backup). Do you have access to a microphone? --Lambyte 20:14, 7 January 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Yes, I have some USB headphones with a mike. Is it going to be a two-way conversation with him? Mine doesn't have a webcam, either. --The High Fin Sperm Whale 21:40, 7 January 2011 (UTC)[reply]

One more thing: I assume Benny's Bagels is a WiFi hotspot? --The High Fin Sperm Whale 21:44, 7 January 2011 (UTC)[reply]

I can't imagine it being a two-way conversation. There are too many of us and only one of him. The mic and cam would be for the other conference call with other can:wiki'ers that was mentioned earlier. As for the WiFi, I don't know. --Lambyte 22:45, 8 January 2011 (UTC)[reply]

BB does have Wi-Fi, and there is the possibility of a two-way conversation with Jimmy - he has agreed to Skype as many of the parties as possible. The Interior 01:05, 9 January 2011 (UTC)[reply]

I hope someone else will bring their laptop, because I am no even sure mine will be here before the event. --The High Fin Sperm Whale 17:11, 10 January 2011 (UTC)[reply]

I am buying a cam and mic this week for myself; I will bring them to the meetup. That said, if anyone else can also bring a laptop, that would be great. --Lambyte 09:12, 12 January 2011 (UTC)[reply]

I am somewhat interested to attend. What is the estimated turnout? Alex Shih 06:49, 11 January 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Right now, I really have no idea. Myself and Ponyo distributed many invites, so i'm guessing 15-20? (purely unscientific estimate) But you should come regardless! (update - Swag has arrived, am wearing one of the T's right now and its awesome) The Interior 07:40, 11 January 2011 (UTC)[reply]

I posted about the event on my facebook status and got about 4 interested people. Very effective considering it only takes a minute. I recommend everybody do the same. Pre-packaged status: "Planning on going to Vancouver Wikipedia meetup. Want to come along? http://ten.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vancouver,_B.C." --Lambyte 09:12, 12 January 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Last time we had 8 show up (sorry TI for not responding on my talk), we probably spammed 30-50 talk pages from the list on WP:Vancouver. Since this is the big ten-oh, the takeup ratio may be higher. Regardless, I go anywhere that free t-shirts are, it's a major part of my wardrobe. And this being Vancouver and all, I'll be expecting official Wikipedia bongs too. :) We all had a great time last go-round, so the more the merrier this time! Franamax 02:12, 13 January 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Got some WP stickers that could go on a bong, if one was so inclined :)The Interior 06:03, 13 January 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Planning to attend, and have had it on Wikimedians.CA for a while. Hoping to see a reasonable turnout. - Amgine 20:07, 13 January 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Transportation request

Is there anyone who could transport me from the Horseshoe Bay ferry terminal to the meetup location and then back? -- Denelson83 22:10, 8 January 2011 (UTC)[reply]

No takers? -- Denelson83 06:46, 9 January 2011 (UTC)[reply]

You could ask your friendly neighbourhood bus driver. The #257 Vancouver Express takes you downtown to Georgia & Granville, from there catch either the #4 or #7, it goes along West 4th. Get off at either Balsam or Trafalgar and walk up to Broadway. One hour total. You'd have to check the timing for the return journey: here. Franamax 22:20, 12 January 2011 (UTC)[reply]

I find Google maps easier to use than Translink's Tripplanning. Assuming arrival at 6:30pm, the trip would take ~1 hour on the bus: Maps. I don't know what time you have to be back on the ferry, but you can get return trip information on there as well.--Lambyte 00:49, 13 January 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Laptop

Last second plug for a someone to bring a laptop. I am mentally ready to go buy my new MacBookPro, but not financially. Anyways, how can we go a whole evening without checking our watchlists? The vandals will be running wild! (seriously, we could skype Jimmy, he's staying up all night and has set up a schedule for calls) The Interior 20:37, 14 January 2011 (UTC)[reply]

I might have my laptop by then, but don't count on it. --The High Fin Sperm Whale 01:05, 15 January 2011 (UTC)[reply]

I will be there

6:00 to set up, any laptop bringers should show up a bit early too so we can calibrate. See you all soon! The Interior 00:08, 16 January 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Enjoy everyone!

I won't be able to make it there in person, but I am definitely there in spirit. Please raise a virtual pint on my behalf...Cheers! --Ponyo 02:09, 16 January 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Great meetup!

It was really cool meeting you guys! I'm glad there was such a good turnout. Sorry I couldn't stick around and chat a little longer, I had a ways to travel (it was already almost 11pm by the time I got home), but at least I left with a cool t-shirt! and I'm happy about that. ;) The Interior, thanks for organizing the event! -- OlEnglish 07:21, 16 January 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks for wishing me a happy birthday on my talk page a couple of months ago, OE! –thedemonhog 10:36, 16 January 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Darn, I didn't have a chance to meet OlEnglish! Anyways, it was fun meeting Wikipedians; in real life! Thank you again to The Interior for organizing it. Hope to meetup with you all next time around. en:K. Annoyomous 10:36, 16 January 2011 (UTC)

Thanks to everyone who came. Very enjoyable night. The Interior 18:57, 16 January 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Yes, thank you The Interior! --The High Fin Sperm Whale 22:04, 16 January 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Good times, everybody. Nice to meet you all.--Lambyte 00:55, 17 January 2011 (UTC)[reply]