Dear Deryck, I'm terribly sorry that Brexit left a sour taste to your (and actually my) involvement
Sent from my Sony Xperia™ smartphone ---- Deryck Chan wrote ---- >I apologise for the somewhat emotionally charged post. Please read to the >end and I promise my argument will come together... > >Wikimania 2016 gave me more emotional hot air than any other previous >Wikimania except the one I organised (2013). But unusually, the hot air >didn't arise from disputes about Wikimedia chapter governance or conference >(dis)organisation. It was about Brexit. > >(For the record, I thought Wikimania Esino was amazingly well-operated.) > >Before Wikimania, I had already set out my attitude towards Brexit on a >Facebook note. I've reposted it on my user-space on the Wikimania 2016 wiki >so I won't repeat my arguments at length: > >https://wikimania2016.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Deryck_Chan/The_reluctant_Remain_voter > >The title of my post gives it away - I'm lukewarm towards Brexit. > >At Wikimania, the topic of Brexit naturally brought itself up in many >mealtime conversations between me and Wikimaniacs from other EU countries. >My opinion on the matter often took conversations towards unhappy >disagreement, and I would feel excluded from subsequent conversation on the >same table. > >I've never felt so rejected at Wikimania. Most heated debate at Wikimania I >was involved in took the form of "us vs. y'all", so as inflamed as a debate >may have been, there would be a "my side". But not this time. My unusual >perspective as a non-white British (and EU, until UK formally withdraws) >citizen meant that I had a perspective that was shared by very few others >at Wikimania. It was like "me vs everyone else". > >I felt disenfranchised enough by the referendum debate itself as a >non-white citizen of the UK. I felt sad enough that I voted Remain but >Leave won. I wanted to share the little bit of hope I still had about the >future, on the day Leave was declared victorious, and wasn't appreciated. > >I shared my feelings with Daria Cybulska (WMUK staff, Polish origin) and >she reminded me to be "sensitive" of other people in discussion... an >instruction I immediately fell foul of in that discussion, as I forgot that >the UK's withdrawal from the EU will mean fewer opportunities for people >with similar backgrounds to Daria, as much as the EU's protectionist >tendencies have been reducing the opportunities for people with similar >backgrounds to me. > >Okay, enough Brexit chat. I promised my argument would come together. > >In her Wikimania keynote, Katherine Maher said one of the things WMF would >prioritise in the next year is to make our communities a "friendly and >inclusive space". > >I'm a six-time Wikimaniac; and in-person meetings are known to facilitate >more amicable debates than online discussions. But because of my unique >background, even I fell foul of the standards of sensitivity in >communication, and as a result felt unwelcome. > >Now imagine someone from a far-flung corner of Wikimedia-sphere joining >Wikimania for the first time. Or a prospective new editor from a far-flung >corner of Earth clicking [edit] for the first time. When there's >disagreement in which the newcomer has a unique perspective, will they feel >included? > >I don't claim to have the magic bullet. But thanks to Brexit happening >during Wikimania 2016, now I understand the sheer magnitude of the problem. >I feel encouraged that Katherine and the WMF are making it a leading >priority for the next year to foster a "friendly and inclusive" community >atmosphere. > >I'm not sure which one is easier to solve: the political mess of today's >Europe, or the hostile mess of online communities. But for both, I shall >remain hopeful and do my part to make our communities better. > >Deryck > >_______________________________________________ >Wikimania-l mailing list >[email protected] >https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimania-l
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