Hi Deryk Thank you for sharing such a personal response to your experiences at Wikimania, and you raise a very valid point about different cultural sensitivities and the possibility of feeling like an outsider IRL as well as online. I'm so sorry you felt rejected and excluded at Wikimania. I don't think I was involved in the specific discussion you mention but I can certainly attest to the fact that emotions were running high that weekend following the referendum. Your email is a useful reminder that we all have a different perspective on issues that can seem like binary propositions. It was great to see you at the WMUK AGM yesterday, and I really hope that you felt welcome and included there!
All best Lucy On 9 July 2016 at 22:51, Deryck Chan <[email protected]> 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 > > _______________________________________________ > Wikimedia UK mailing list > [email protected] > https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediauk-l > WMUK: https://wikimedia.org.uk > -- Lucy Crompton-Reid Chief Executive Wikimedia UK +44 (0) 207 065 0991 Wikimedia UK is a Company Limited by Guarantee registered in England and Wales, Registered No. 6741827. Registered Charity No.1144513. Registered Office 4th Floor, Development House, 56-64 Leonard Street, London EC2A 4LT. Wikimedia UK is the UK chapter of a global Wikimedia movement. The Wikimedia projects are run by the Wikimedia Foundation (who operate Wikipedia, amongst other projects). *Wikimedia UK is an independent non-profit charity with no legal control over Wikipedia nor responsibility for its contents.*
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