Ok let’s pitch a Show-and-Tell where we can showcase different offline techs 
(IIAB, KH, Wikifundi, Cyberpony, etc.) in meatspace.

Andrew, can you take care of the placeholder submission? I think you can add 
folks to the proposal so we can edit/correct stuff if need be.

Ninja edit: was about to hit « send » when I saw you email Andrew. thanks!


> On 27 Mar 2025, at 14:17, Andrew Lih <[email protected]> wrote:
> 
> Great to hear that the Wikimania organizers are encouraging more of this, 
> especially since there may be great applications for the region. 
> 
> If that is the case, perhaps we could submit something related to 
> LoRa/Meshtastic now, get it in the system, and then combine or figure out how 
> we do a session on it.
> 
> Some ideas:
> 1. A group of folks are running the "Cyberpony Express" project in 
> conjunction with the Burning Man organizers, on how to create an offline BBS 
> and Wikipedia system using LoRa/Meshtastic in the desert (or in a survival 
> scenario), and are already using IIAB. They might be interested in 
> collaborating on something. See:
> https://highdesertinstitute.org/2025/03/19/initial-cyberpony-express-workshop-recap-and-next-steps/
> 
> 2. There don't seem to be any active Kenya groups (that I can see) using 
> LoRa/Meshtastic, so Wikimania could be a great training ground for testing 
> some services. Usually amateur/Ham radio groups are a good conduit for 
> getting folks interested in Meshtastic, so we might want to reach out to 
> them, or universities doing similar things.
> 
> 3. We could experiment with setting up a Meshtastic network just for 
> Wikimania, so people can try it out themselves. Access devices are as low as 
> $30-40 USD.
> 
> -Andrew
> 
> 
> On Thu, Mar 27, 2025 at 4:59 AM Stephane Coillet-Matillon <[email protected] 
> <mailto:[email protected]>> wrote:
>> Well folks from the organizing committee told me offline access would be 
>> front and center this year so there’s definitely room for more offline 
>> sessions!
>> 
>> > On 26 Mar 2025, at 22:35, Andrew Lih <[email protected] 
>> > <mailto:[email protected]>> wrote:
>> > 
>> > Hi all, while I'm not sure there is room for a third session about offline 
>> > Wikipedia, there might be some interesting things to do during the 
>> > Hackathon.
>> > 
>> > Specifically, there is a lot more attention to "offline friendly" 
>> > technologies like LoRa/Meshtastic, an inexpensive, long range wireless 
>> > peer/mesh system of radios to communicate with text messaging at low 
>> > bandwidth (1 kbps). This might be an interesting opportunity to see what 
>> > types of offline Wikipedia services might be practical using these types 
>> > of inexpensive devices. The good news is that LoRa uses unlicensed ISM 
>> > bands depending on the locale, and does not requiring a license or any 
>> > subscription fees.
>> > 
>> > There are "international" devices that can use wireless spectrum 
>> > appropriate for different countries, so this might be a good time to 
>> > experiment or showcase these types of applications.
>> > 
>> > Sample device:
>> > https://www.seeedstudio.com/SenseCAP-Card-Tracker-T1000-E-for-Meshtastic-p-5913.html
>> > 
>> > Example BBS/service on LoRa:
>> > https://github.com/TheCommsChannel/TC2-BBS-mesh
>> > 
>> > -Andrew
>> > _______________________________________________
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> 
> 
> --
> -Andrew Lih
> Smithsonian Institution - Wikimedian at Large
> Metropolitan Museum of Art - Wikimedia strategist
> Previously: professor of journalism and communications, American University, 
> Columbia University, University of Southern California
> ---
> Email: [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>, 
> [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>
> WEB: https://muckrack.com/fuzheado
> PROJECT: Wikipedia Space: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WP:WPSPACE
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