File:Wikimania Year by Year 2005.webm

Series overview - Wikimania: Year by Year is an oral history and discussion of the world of Wikipedia and Wikimedia from 2005 to the present, seen through the lens of the annual Wikimania conference. A roundtable of participants will particpate in a live video discussion while engaging people on social media (YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Twitch).

Episode: Wikimania 2020 was scheduled for August 5 to coincide with the 15th anniversary of the first Wikimania in 2005. It was postponed by COVID, but it provides the perfect opportunity to launch a series discussing the very first Wikimania, held in 2005 in Frankfurt, Germany, and the entire 2005 year in wiki. This was the first international conference of the Wikimedia movement and the first time many participants had met another Wikipedian. It was held in a youth hostel (Haus der Jugend) in Frankfurt, and we spent much of the week outside in the hostel's beer garden. What else was going on in the world of Wikipedia and wikis in 2005? Attendees and organizers of Wikimania 2005 will talk about this momentous early event, how it shaped Wikimedia going forward, and what Wikipedia was like in 2005.

Planned panel:

• Andrew Lih (User:Fuzheado)
• Phoebe Ayers (User:Phoebe)
• Richard Knipel (User:Pharos)
• James Forrester (User:Jdforrester)
• Delphine Menard (User:Notafish)
• Florence Devouard (User:Anthere)
• Eugene Eric Kim (User:Eekim)
• Brion Vibber (User:Brion VIBBER)
• Arne Klempert (User:Akl)

Topics

• Screening a 7 minute documentary by Rory O'Connor and discussing the first Wikimania
• How did Wikimania get started and what is its legacy?
• What made people think of going?
• What is the role of face-to-face meetups in the movement?
• How accurate were predictions and assumptions from 2005?