Activity report (Q4 2013–2014)

This report describes the activities of Wikimedia District of Columbia from July 1, 2014 through September 30, 2014.

Content programs

During the fourth quarter, Wikimedia DC supported five edit-a-thons across the region, including three in Washington, DC, and two in Maryland. All of these events were held in partnership with other institutions, including universities and historical societies.

At the three edit-a-thons for which we were able to collect data, 21 participants made 111 edits to 33 articles, adding 41,141 bytes of content to Wikipedia. The participants include:

• 7 who created Wikipedia accounts this quarter;
• 1 who created an account at a past edit-a-thon and has attended at least one additional edit-a-thon; and
• 11 who have attended at least two edit-a-thons this fiscal year, including 3 who attended two or more edit-a-thons this quarter alone.

In total, as of the end of the quarter, a total of 137 participants have participated in Wikimedia DC edit-a-thons, which is 274% of the goal set for the fiscal year and an increase of 9.5% since the last quarter.

The Chronicling America Edit-a-Thon in progress

The edit-a-thons held in this quarter included:

• The American Chemical Society Edit-a-Thon, held at the American Chemical Society on July 12. Articles created or improved at the edit-a-thon include Robert Curl, Ketamine, Thomas J. Barton, Robert Curl, Helen Murray Free, Neil Bartlett, Rachel Carson, Makhluf Haddadin, Joseph Priestley, Rainbow Herbicides, Katharine Burr Blodgett, Willard Libby, Indazole, Davis–Beirut reaction, Charles Musgrave, American Chemical Society, Helen Murray Free, Elias James Corey, and DNA nanotechnology.

• The Battle of Fort Stevens Edit-a-Thon, held at the DC Historical Society on July 30. Articles created or improved at the edit-a-thon include Battle of Fort Stevens and Fort Stevens.

• The Chronicling America Edit-a-Thon, held at the University of Maryland's Hornbake Library on August 11. Articles created or improved at the edit-a-thon include United States Post Office and Courthouse (Charleston, South Carolina), Kandyan dance, Washington, Baltimore and Annapolis Electric Railway, Underground Railroad, Frank Key Howard, Duff Green, Budapesti Honvéd SE (men's basketball), William H. Watson, and Coastline paradox.

• The War of 1812 Edit-a-Thon, held at the DC Historical Society on August 13. Articles created at the edit-a-thon include Quema de Washington.

• The Laurel History Edit-a-Thon, held at the Laurel Historical Society on September 21. Articles created or improved at the edit-a-thon include Gertrude Poe, Laurel, Maryland, Laurel Leader, Snow Hill (Laurel, Maryland), and Hurricane Agnes.

Event	Cohort	Total Participants	Editing Participants	Number of Edits	Pages Created	Bytes Added
American Chemical Society Edit-a-Thon	Newcomers	4	3	31	0	7,402
	Experienced Editors	9	8	45	4	17,761
Chronicling America Edit-a-Thon	Newcomers	1	—	—	—	—
	Experienced Editors	8	6	21	0	3,318
Laurel History Edit-a-Thon	Newcomers	2	1	1	0	483
	Experienced Editors	3	3	13	1	12,177

Technology programs

On September 27–28, Wikimedia DC and the National Archives and Records Administration hosted the second Open Government WikiHack. James Forrester of the Wikimedia Foundation presented an introduction to Wikidata, and several Wikidata-related projects were started by participants. Projects discussed included creating Wikidata entries for Executive Orders, improving Wikidata's coverage of diseases using data from the National Library of Medicine, and a UI for querying Wikidata. According to follow-up surveys, 75% of participants were mostly or completely satisfied with the amount they accomplished during the WikiHack.

Community programs

On August 29–31, Wikimedia DC hosted its first Workshop Facilitator Training. The event brought together 12 active Wikimedians from across the United States and taught them personalized techniques for executing projects in their existing communities. Early feedback from the attendees was overwhelmingly positive.

Wikimedia DC continued its traditional participation in the annual Great American Wiknic, with picnics held in Baker Park in Frederick, Maryland, on July 6, and in Meridian Hill Park in DC on July 13. Wikimedia DC also hosted WikiSalons in July, August, and September, and dinner meetups in August and September.

Public policy

On August 18, the Cato Institute hosted a panel in the Rayburn House office building about Wikipedia editing for Congressional staff. Speakers included Jim Hayes of the Wikimedia DC Public Policy Committee, Jim Harper and Michelle Newby of the Cato Institute and and the panel was moderated by John Maniscalco, Director for Congressional Affairs at the Cato Institute. The event received significant press coverage, including being shown live on C-SPAN, and responded to recent controversies about Congressional editing.

Organizational development

The Wikimedia DC Board of Directors held regular meetings on July 26, August 17, and September 14. At these meetings, the Board established an Executive Committee and a Safe Space Committee, approved the Volunteer Policy and the Technology Access Policy, and adopted amendments to several existing policies.

Wikimedia DC membership remained stable at 72 members.