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Archive 1Archive 2Archive 3

2005 meetup

Missed it

Thanks for the invite, however I hadn't logged on for a while and just saw it. I'm sure it was fun, and I wish I could have been there. I'll keep a better eye out for next time! --Jeremy Hipp 06:54, 12 November 2005 (UTC)

Image deleted

There's a backup of the image at [1] for when this one gets deleted. I don't think this was really what the fair use policy was meant to be about. :( Angela. 05:15, 14 November 2005 (UTC)

2006 meetup

Discussion

(Section moved from Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Minnesota)

We are nearing the anniversary of the first Minnesota Meetup. Is there any interest in making this an annual event? Jonathunder 22:19, 1 October 2006 (UTC)

I'm in (assuming baby stuff doesnt get in the way) you planning it? -Ravedave (help name my baby) 02:42, 2 October 2006 (UTC)
I'd be interested in meeting you folks Appraiser 05:09, 2 October 2006 (UTC)
Absolutely... What day of the week? I'm available this Saturday and the 21st. I assume you want weekends. Grandmasterka 06:17, 2 October 2006 (UTC)
I'm interested. I'm very tentative for this weekend, though -- it's very likely I may have plans for this weekend (at least during the daytime), related to the new userbox on my page. The 21st should be no problem for me, though. --Elkman - (Elkspeak) 13:12, 2 October 2006 (UTC)
The 21st works for me, and it gives us some time to contact all the Minnesota contributors. Jonathunder 15:37, 2 October 2006 (UTC)
I'm oncall that weekend, so I'm out. No biggie though. -Ravedave (help name my baby) 16:36, 2 October 2006 (UTC)

I hope we can find a time when you can make it, Dave. When I get home tonight, I'll move this whole section to Wikipedia talk:Meetup/Minneapolis and then SPAMpolitely notify those likely to be interested on user talk pages. Jonathunder 22:33, 2 October 2006 (UTC)

I can't do this weekend, but I can next. This weekend I'm going north too. ~ AaronF 07:06, 3 October 2006 (UTC)

I believe that's MEA weekend, and so I will be Up North. The Uninvited Co., Inc. 01:31, 3 October 2006 (UTC)

Yup that is MEA weekend... ([2]) -Ravedave (help name my baby) 02:46, 3 October 2006 (UTC)
What do you guys usually do for these? Rx StrangeLove 04:19, 3 October 2006 (UTC)
MEA weekends or meetups? For meetups I wouldn't know (never been to an intarweb meetup), however I am informed that they usually consist of beer, appetizers and conversation. -Ravedave (help name my baby) 04:25, 3 October 2006 (UTC)
Yeah, sorry...the meetups. I've never done the super informationway thing myself...Rx StrangeLove 04:36, 3 October 2006 (UTC)

I think I could do the last weekend of October or the first weekend of November. (Preferably October.) This page shows when I am out of town (I try to keep it updated.) I'm more available the next month than I thought! Grandmasterka 07:18, 3 October 2006 (UTC)

I would like to meet everyone. I am in St. Louis park and would prefer a Twin Cities Venue. Any semantic wikipedians out there? --Dan 13:01, 3 October 2006 (UTC)
OK, how does last weekend of October work for people? (Works for me.) Jonathunder 13:32, 3 October 2006 (UTC)

The last weekend in October works well for me. In the interest of specificity, I would like to suggest Friday evening at 7:00. I work in Burnsville and would prefer a location somewhere in the south metro if that would be convenient for others. The Uninvited Co., Inc. 14:53, 3 October 2006 (UTC)

The last two weekends in October are a smouldering crater of busyness for me. Bad early-morning analogies aside, I have basement boxing on the night of the 20th, a roller derby bout on October 21st that will occupy me all day, and I'm skating in a parade on the 28th followed by much drinking that night for the derby league I'm dropping in on. So if we do late October, Sundays are best; Saturday mornings are fine too. Blah @ me. --Marumari 15:19, 3 October 2006 (UTC)
It would be cool to go. What would we talk about? What typically happens at these meetups? I live in Bloomington, about a 30 minute walk away from the Mall of America. NIRVANA2764 23:36, 3 October 2006 (UTC)
I think I may be interested in coming to one of these. :) I'm in Bloomington as well. --Patteroast 02:11, 4 October 2006 (UTC)
I attended the last meetup, a year ago, as well as a Slashdot meetup. Both were informal meet & greet events. The Mall of America is a good suggestion for venue, I think; there's lots of free parking and easy public transit access as well. I suspect when we meet is going to be the hard thing to nail down. Jonathunder 23:50, 3 October 2006 (UTC)
I'm in shakopee, I'm willing to drive anywhere south of the northern suburbs. I think the mall of america is a pretty good place or block E. There are several locations that have food n drink at both places. Anyone else agree? -Ravedave (help name my baby) 00:00, 4 October 2006 (UTC)
The megamall is fine with me -- parking and transit are easy enough. Block E would also be okay (assuming I don't actually try to park there), but it might be a little bit harder to find each other at Block E. The megamall has enough landmarks that we could pick a meeting point. --Elkman - (Elkspeak) 13:08, 4 October 2006 (UTC)

Location

Where?

I vote the Mall of Excess America Appraiser 02:47, 4 October 2006 (UTC)
I concur. The MOA is fairly central and has light rail access. -Ravedave (help name my baby) 04:11, 4 October 2006 (UTC)
My preference is for the megamall. --Elkman - (Elkspeak) 13:08, 4 October 2006 (UTC)
I prefer the Mall over downtown because of parking, tho I did enjoy Brit's last year. Jonathunder 13:58, 4 October 2006 (UTC)
I'd love to meet at the Mall! (Yes, especially over downtown, I hate trying to park there). Estreya 14:54, 4 October 2006 (UTC)
Either the Mall of Endless Consumption or the City of 10000 Unavailable Parking Spots is fine with me. --Marumari 21:41, 4 October 2006 (UTC)
The mall of the universe offends my highly-tuned open source sensibilities because they consider it a "copyrighted landscape" and are aggressive in pursuing any Criminal Photographers who deny them the Intellectual Property rights guaranteed them by law, the U.S. constitution, the Bible, the U.N., SALT II, etc. Otherwise, it is attractive from a purely practical standpoint. The Uninvited Co., Inc. 22:16, 4 October 2006 (UTC)
Does it have a restaurant without Caesar chicken or hamburgers? ;-) Jonathunder 22:32, 4 October 2006 (UTC)
The MOA restaurant directory lists several in the restaurant-or-quick-serve category:
  • Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. (S396)
  • California Cafe (S368)
  • Famous Dave's BBQ (S321)
  • Hooters (E404)
  • Johnny Rockets (S370)
  • Kokomo's Island Cafe (S319)
  • Napa Valley Grille (W220)
  • Nordstrom Café (Level 3)
  • Rainforest Cafe (S102)
  • Ruby Tuesday (N234)
  • Stadium Club Sports Bar & Grill (Park)
  • Stampede Steakhouse (Park)
  • Tiger Sushi (W224)
  • Tony Roma's (S346)
  • Tucci Benucch (W114)
  • Twin City Grill (N130)
  • Wolfgang Puck Express® (N100)

Has anybody tried these? My experience elsewhere would say that Ruby Tuesday would be too loud. Bubba Gump's web info says that they have a variety of seafood (mahi-mahi, for example). And I know I'd enjoy some barbequed pork at Famous Dave's. Wdfarmer 03:52, 5 October 2006 (UTC)

Oo, Hooters! Er... Any of those sound fine to me. I'm Pesco-vegetarian, but I doubt that would be a problem anywhere. Grandmasterka 04:03, 5 October 2006 (UTC)
I've been to several of these: Bubba Gump (good food, though I'm not a seafood fan; seems to go a little bit overboard with the movie theme), Famous Dave's (good barbeque with a lively atmosphere), Hooters (does anyone actually go there for the food, or just for the scenery?), Ruby Tuesday (kind of generic), Tucci Benucch (good Italian food -- I don't get to go there often enough), and Twin City Grill (kind of pricey steakhouse-type food; can take a while to get into). I think the Rainforest Cafe can take a while to get seated at -- or at least that's the way I remember it being; it may be different now. Johnny Rocket's is a malt shop-type place located on the edge of the food court, so they don't have much of their own seating. Out of this list, my favorites would be Famous Dave's, Tucci Benucch, and Bubba Gump, in that order. I don't have any serious objections to any of them, though. --Elkman - (Elkspeak) 20:37, 5 October 2006 (UTC)
Elkman, good choices, I'll go with those. The atmosphere of Tucci Benucch looks great on their web site. Wdfarmer 22:09, 5 October 2006 (UTC)
My vote is for Famous Daves, as they seem to have the best combination of atmosphere, food, and price. Still not as good as any restaurant outside the Mall of Regrettable Shoe Purchases, but it's really not that bad. --Marumari 05:02, 6 October 2006 (UTC)
My preference would be not Bubba Gump (not much for seafood) any of the others mentioned would be fine with me. -BenFranske 06:28, 9 October 2006 (UTC)

Date

when?

Does very early afternoon of 29th at MoA work for you, Ben?

Agenda

What do we want to do? Just meetup and talk about random stuff or do we want to try and plan out stuff to do? -Ravedave (help name my baby) 01:17, 4 October 2006 (UTC)

I vote - informal (no specific agendum) Appraiser 02:47, 4 October 2006 (UTC)
Talk about those who aren't present? Hash out the highway naming thing some more? Nah, just an informal meetup with no planned activities would work for me. --Elkman - (Elkspeak) 13:08, 4 October 2006 (UTC)
Informal sounds good, though I am 100% sure the highway thing will come up. :)-Ravedave (help name my baby) 14:41, 4 October 2006 (UTC)
Vote informal I would try to come to a informal meeting of MN wikipedians. It doesn't seem like there's enough organization to do anything but informal. Themissinglint 15:10, 4 October 2006 (UTC)
Thanks for the invite - I moved to the Twin Cities 9 months ago. Informal chat over food and drink would be my style, in a place that's quiet enough for conversation, but not so formal that we have to talk softly. :) See my entry above under "Location". Wdfarmer 03:49, 5 October 2006 (UTC)

Proposal

To try to summarize the above and add specificity: Meetup on Sunday, October 29, early afternoon (say 1 p.m.) at the Mall of America, for a social hour and general disscussion, at Tucci Benucch Italian restaurant (W114), or if that is full or meets disapproval, Famous Dave's. Does this work? Jonathunder 14:28, 11 October 2006 (UTC)

Who's coming (2006)?

Back row:BenFranske, AxelBoldt, UninvitedCompany, Appraiser, DP's bgalbrecht, Elkman, Meersan, Ravedave, Jonathunder, Grandmasterka, Estreya, front row: Wdfarmer, Marumari, Grika, Anetode
Lets make this the attendance list so we can get a count for planning purposes, now that the proposal seems to be accepted. -Ravedave (help name my baby) 19:51, 12 October 2006 (UTC)
  1. It does for me. -Ravedave (help name my baby) 14:43, 11 October 2006 (UTC)
  2. It works fine for me. --Elkman - (Elkspeak) 15:08, 11 October 2006 (UTC)
  3. Sounds good. I might make an appearance. Christy747 21:12, 11 October 2006 (UTC)
  4. Yep. Grandmasterka 21:22, 11 October 2006 (UTC)
  5. I plan to be there. Grika Ⓣ15:42, 12 October 2006 (UTC)
  6. I'd really like to come, but I work until 5:30 that day. How late do you think you'll go? McGhiever 16:53, 12 October 2006 (UTC)
  7. I'll be there. The Uninvited Co., Inc. 17:49, 12 October 2006 (UTC)
  8. I'll be there. Wdfarmer 19:38, 12 October 2006 (UTC)
  9. I plan to be there Appraiser 18:11, 12 October 2006 (UTC)
  10. Sounds interesting ˉˉanetode╦╩ 21:07, 13 October 2006 (UTC)
  11. I'll be there!Estreya 19:30, 14 October 2006 (UTC)
  12. Add me, and another. Jonathunder 16:36, 15 October 2006 (UTC)
  13. See you there. If there are gonna be a ton of us, do we need a reservation or something? - Meersan 16:20, 18 October 2006 (UTC)
    N/M, looks like Uninvited has it in hand - Meersan 16:31, 18 October 2006 (UTC)
  14. I'll do my best to be there, but can't make any promises. Sorry! --Marumari 21:47, 23 October 2006 (UTC)
  15. Thanks for the invitation, I'll be there. AxelBoldt 19:01, 28 October 2006 (UTC)
  16. I shall try to be at Tucci's at 1pm, but it depends a lot on how much I get done in the morning. About 50/50 chance. David E Romm 22:03, 28 October 2006 (UTC)
  17. I can be there, but there are 17 people listed here and Uninvited wrote that reservations are for ten. I'll check back here later tonight, but if nothing's changed with the reservations, then I can skip it and make it easier for the rest of you. Peter Gawtry 22:26, 28 October 2006 (UTC)
    Please do come, if you can, and everyone else who wishes. I'll alert the restaurant. Jonathunder 22:41, 28 October 2006 (UTC)
    OK. T.B. says for more than 14 people, we have to order from the corporate menu at $15 per person and almost certainly will be seated at two separate areas anyway. Famous Daves, which was our backup plan, doesn't do formal reservations, so there may be a "short" wait, but they will be happy to seat 17 (or even a few more) of us together, and we can each order whatever we want. I know this is short notice, but I propose going to the backup plan, Famous Daves. Jonathunder 23:32, 28 October 2006 (UTC)
    I'd rather switch to somewhere we don't have to purchase food ... I wasn't planning on eating much at that hour. I'll second moving to Famous Dave's so more people can come without worrying about putting us over the 14 person limit. Estreya 23:42, 28 October 2006 (UTC)
    Sounds good. Is there a way we can alert everyone? Is it possible (or necessary) to leave a notice at Tucci Bennuch? Grandmasterka 02:59, 29 October 2006 (UTC)
    How about a sign outside T.B.'s saying #REDIRECT [[Famous Dave's]]? Just kidding, but I'll see if they can redirect people. Jonathunder 03:01, 29 October 2006 (UTC)
    Sorry, but after a late change of plans, my parents are taking me back down to Gustavus in the morning rather than late afternoon. I REALLY wish that I could be there, but now it appears that I can't. I'll certainly try to be at later meetups - I love wikipedia and the community here is absolutely great. I hope you all get this message before this afternoon. Sorry again! I really wish I could be there :( Peter Gawtry 15:55, 29 October 2006 (UTC)

I have made reservations for 1 p.m. (set your clocks back) Sunday the 29th. The reservations are for 10 people. Just tell them that you are the Uninvited party. The Uninvited Co., Inc. 14:47, 28 October 2006 (UTC)

Famous Dave's expects about 17 or so of us, and though they said there may be a short wait, they will accommodate us as best they can. Jonathunder 02:56, 29 October 2006 (UTC)

Regrets (2006)

Those unable to make this event
I'm glad you are a contributer. My sophomore son has contributed, although he won't be there on the 29th. Maybe you can make it to the next one. Appraiser 00:09, 14 October 2006 (UTC)

2007 meetup

so yeahhhhhhhhhhhh whens the 2007 one gonna be? lets have it at Pracna along St. Anthony Main :) Davumaya 09:55, 23 August 2007 (UTC)

The St. Anthony Main and its environs are awesome, Pracna has that nice side room. The parking is actually quite cheap if you use the underutilized public ramp nearby. I regret not going to the first two (I didn't know about these), esp. the first one since I live downtown (my apartment ended up in the Foshay Tower photo). I personally can't stand soulless chain restaurants, but I look more forward to meeting people and am open to wherever. --Bobak 19:36, 23 August 2007 (UTC)
  • This Sunday 1pm or this Friday 7pm? If two people agree on a day and time I could help spam talk pages tonight. If it turns out to be too much of a rush don't mind me but here's hoping you take a photo. -Susanlesch 22:13, 26 September 2007 (UTC)
  • I've never been to Pracna, but am interested in seeing the local Wikipedians again. Pracna has some pretty mixed reviews on Citysearch, but then, so does my current favorite, Town Hall Brewery at Seven Corners, so perhaps I can't put too much stock in the reviews.
    BTW, if it rains, it appears there's an underground tunnel from the above-mentioned parking ramp to St. Anthony Main. Wdfarmer 23:41, 30 September 2007 (UTC)
Should we ask for a geonotice to be sent for this? It is basically a message that appears for people editing from IPs which appear to be in a certain area. You can see a few examples at Wikipedia:Requests for geonotice. kmccoy (talk) 06:33, 1 October 2007 (UTC)


Send this to anyone you know may be interested

Minnesota Meetup
Sunday, 2007-10-07, 1:00 p.m. (13:00)
Pracna on Main
117 Main SE, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Map
Please pass this on! RSVP here.

Who's coming? (2007)

  1. User:Susanlesch made a reservation. Pracna will have some tables if we need them. —Preceding signed but undated comment was added at 15:09, 30 September 2007 (UTC)
  2. Appraiser plans to be there.--Appraiser 15:12, 30 September 2007 (UTC)
  3. I'll be there! --Bobak 16:42, 30 September 2007 (UTC)
  4. I plan to be there. Tom Ruen 16:56, 30 September 2007 (UTC)
  5. Will be there. I think I have notified all the people who were notified for the last one and hadn't gotten one yet. Jonathunder 17:18, 30 September 2007 (UTC)
  6. I'll be there. Maybe we can visit Mill Ruins Park afterward or something like that. (That's the history buff in me showing.) --Elkman (Elkspeak) 17:57, 30 September 2007 (UTC)
  7. Save me a seat; I might be late. Grika Ⓣ 22:08, 30 September 2007 (UTC)
  8. Ok, I'll bite. Wdfarmer 23:16, 30 September 2007 (UTC)
  9. I can't believe it - it looks like I'll be able to go. Grandmasterka 23:32, 30 September 2007 (UTC)
  10. I'll make my first Wiki-meetup ;) That happens to be a weekend I'm back in town with no plans!--Greyduk 03:57, 1 October 2007 (UTC)
  11. Woot! Early enough too! And my idea for a place actually worked! I feel special. I'll be the Asian urban hipster..:DavuMaya:. 06:08, 1 October 2007 (UTC)
  12. I'll be there If I can find a babysitter. -Ravedave 19:00, 1 October 2007 (UTC)
  13. I should be there. 99% sure, for sure. Okay, maybe 90%. Pretty sure. I may also drag along an MPR producer, if anybody wants to be interviewed at all; he may also post here. --Marumari 22:15, 1 October 2007 (UTC)
    Oh fooey! My soccer match got scheduled at the exact same time, so I actually can't make it. Grrr! --Marumari 17:04, 3 October 2007 (UTC)
  14. I'll be there. I'm also dragging a friend with me. One hour drive is doable. CJLippert 01:28, 2 October 2007 (UTC)
  15. Nice location, right across the river ˉˉanetode╦╩ 12:22, 2 October 2007 (UTC)
  16. Hi everyone. I am said MPR producer . . I may have tried to contact a few of you already. If it's no intrusion I'd like to come to the gathering. I am trying to put together a segment about various micro-democracies for In The Loop. If anyone is interested in sharing their thoughts with me before hand you can e-mail me . . . I'm still working out my thoughts on this segment so any ideas are welcome. --Sandboxes unite 20:33, 2 October 2007 (UTC)
    Hi. You are most welcome IMHO and I hope you can make it. Can you do this "opt-in"? In other words, can people who wish to speak or be photographed know if and when they are on the record, and can those who wish to be stay out of the record, invisible and anonymous? -Susanlesch 22:03, 2 October 2007 (UTC)
    Again, speaking only for me. Looking at edit histories with days between visits, we may not hear back in time. May I suggest that MPR make no audio and no video and no photos unless we do hear back? And of course we might hear back any minute. Comments welcome. I can easily be persuaded otherwise because this is my first meetup. I thought it was a lunch and a rare chance to meet fellow editors from Wikipedia (and not so much an exploration into democracies). -Susanlesch 00:59, 3 October 2007 (UTC)
    From my experience with NPR/MPR, they ask before they do anything (especially a piece regarding something like Wikipedia). I think we can sort any such concerns at the gathering and without any extra layer of preparation. I admit I don't quite understand the level of extra concern. Is there someone with an outstanding warrant coming that we should know about? :-p --Bobak 01:20, 3 October 2007 (UTC)
    If you are happy I am happy. Just cautious to a fault. See you all Sunday. -Susanlesch 01:38, 3 October 2007 (UTC)
    Hey everyone! Sorry it took me a while to respond. I'm still getting use to checking my voice-mail, e-mail and wiki account. I was only planning on recording people who want to be recorded. I've been talking to a bunch of folks before hand too, so people will know what I'm asking and so I know what kind of ideas to expect. The piece isn't about the gathering, it's more a discussion of grassroots democracies of sorts (Wikipedia is one of many examples we plan to look at in an upcoming episode of In The Loop). Anyway, I am more than willing to keep my camera and mic away from anyone who for whatever reason doesn't feel like being interviewed. Also, I may be bringing an extra hand in the form of our show's new intern. I hope that's okay. Again, if anyone feels uncomfortable, please let me know. Thanks! --Sandboxes unite 14:57, 4 October 2007 (UTC)
    Maybe to make things go smoother I can just talk to the folks I've already chatted with. My plan was to just pull people aside for a five to ten minute chat and then move on to the next person. The piece will probably be a voice montage or something so that we can feature a variety of voices and ideas. Also, it's much easier to record when you are dealing with one person at a time! So anyway, that will probably be my plan.--Sandboxes unite 15:07, 4 October 2007 (UTC)
  17. I'm planning to attend as well though I will need to leave no later than 2:40. Look forward to seeing those of you I met last year again along with some new faces. I may drag along a friend or two. --BenFranske 21:17, 3 October 2007 (UTC)
  18. I'll try to be there. — Meersan 00:00, 4 October 2007 (UTC)
  19. Excellent choice on time and location. I hope to be there! - Dan McCreary --Dan 15:46, 3 October 2007 (UTC)
  20. I will probably be able to come. Bowmanjj 18:50, 4 October 2007 (UTC)
  21. Representative(s) from startribune.com may also be attending. Grika Ⓣ 20:52, 4 October 2007 (UTC)
    Gee, with this much publicity, should we all be wearing Wikipedia-themed T-shirts? -- Wdfarmer 16:14, 5 October 2007 (UTC)
  22. After all that fuss my editor decided against this story this time around! I'm sorry to say I won't be intruding into the gathering with my mic and camera. The upside is, I finally started a Wiki account, I've spoken to some fascinating people and there may be a story here sometime down the line. Have a good time though! Thanks for all your help.--Sandboxes unite 23:37, 5 October 2007 (UTC)
Lawl, just checked my watchlist today, wow well a whole hullaboo and now nothing :( Maybe at least Stribbers will be there. Though, I get nervous..... y'know like AHHHHHHHHH krazy. Haha j/k. I'll be there to make it funnish. O it's almost here! .:DavuMaya:. 05:11, 6 October 2007 (UTC)
Yikes, I look awful and sad in that picture :) .:DavuMaya:. 07:14, 8 October 2007 (UTC)
There was another photo as well, I look forward to seeing it too. --Bobak 14:50, 8 October 2007 (UTC)
Nice to meet you all and the walk was beautiful. Yes I would like to see other photos too. Can the photographer be added to the caption? I am pretty sure there was another person. -Susanlesch 01:21, 10 October 2007 (UTC)
That was Jonathunder's friend, whose name I forgot. --Elkman (Elkspeak) 01:49, 10 October 2007 (UTC)
Chris, I think.--Appraiser 11:13, 10 October 2007 (UTC)
Caption added and thanks for taking this. I think there was one more person in a dark shirt. -Susanlesch 12:28, 10 October 2007 (UTC)
Chris took the photo, but it was someone else's camera --I think Grika. --Bobak 14:34, 10 October 2007 (UTC)

Regrets (2007)

People who cannot be there

That copy was missing a close div. It's fine now, thank you. -Susanlesch 15:07, 1 October 2007 (UTC)
There's a direct flight to Minneapolis from Gatwick! ;-) --Bobak 16:37, 1 October 2007 (UTC)

2008

Regular meetup

I propose that we hold our annual meetup at 12:00 on Saturday, October 11, 2008. I'd like to meet again somewhere in the vicinity of St. Anthony Main or Gold Medal Park, with the idea of walking to one of the observations decks under the St. Anthony Falls (35W) Bridge. Preferences? [unsigned comment by User:Appraiser according to this. -SusanLesch (talk) 11:31, 20 September 2008 (UTC)]

Good idea. If we're looking for cheap eats near the Gold Medal Park, I recommend the new Thai place Kindee Thai. Its catercorner to the Guthrie, but unlike other options is very reasonably priced. There's also the decently priced sandwiches at the Level Five Cafe inside the Guthrie (no ticket needed, of course). Otherwise there's also solid places like Grumpy's (on Washington). Spill the Wine and Spoonriver are a tad more upscale, the later is very organic-focused. Cue is definitely too much for this gathering. In my other life, I am a foodie. --Bobak (talk) 21:32, 17 September 2008 (UTC)
The Seven Corners area is very convenient to the observation decks on the north side of the bridge, and I would highly recommend Town Hall Brewery for burgers, beer, and hard cider. Indoor and outdoor seating is available. Parking is readily available in the parking structure next to the Holiday Inn, just steps from Town Hall Brewery. –Wdfarmer (talk) 23:11, 18 September 2008 (UTC)
I loooove Town Hall but I tend to prefer it as more of a night time spot (its very busy). Preferably I would like to be near the Guthrie cuz I haven't been around there. I actually do like the Level 5 Cafe even if it nots well stocked but its a very casual and cool area to be too. But if we really want to eat and be full and merry with drinks we ought to do Town Hall or Spoonriver. davumaya 20:00, 4 October 2008 (UTC)

Someone who knows what they're doing should probably see about filing a geographical IP notice request to notify users in the area as this is now only a week away. In the past spamming user pages has also been successful, at least it got me to the first one...--BenFranske (talk) 01:48, 5 October 2008 (UTC)

Someone who knows what they're doing should also mention whether the above is 12 noon or 12 midnight, and notify those who already responded. The Alternate section below implies this meeting is at 12 midnight, but some of the discussion here implies 12 noon. I note the sightseeing offered at midnight is somewhat limited. -- SEWilco (talk) 18:49, 5 October 2008 (UTC)
I vote for Town Hall Brewery.--Appraiser (talk) 01:25, 6 October 2008 (UTC)
When you have date and time, it would be a good idea to announce this on Talk:Minneapolis, Minnesota and Template:Meetup. Those are easy, not sure but as I recall geo notification's a little tricky. Have fun. -SusanLesch (talk) 14:22, 6 October 2008 (UTC)
Any compelling objection to meeting at Town Hall Brewery?--Appraiser (talk) 15:10, 8 October 2008 (UTC)
Other than "I went there way too much in law school it sounds fine (after all: Preston's food is meh, Bullwinkle's is too small and Grandma's is gone). I also am not a big fan of Chipotle and Noodles because of all the time I spent there. They have a convenient ramp right next door (a public ramp behind the Holiday Inn) --Bobak (talk) 15:53, 8 October 2008 (UTC)

Will attend 12:00 Noon at Town Hall Brewery[3]

Regrets

I'm sorry for your loss.--Appraiser (talk) 04:54, 20 September 2008 (UTC)

Alternate Meetup

I will be at the following location on Friday at 10:00 PM (at night) instead and invite anybody who'd like to stop by for a chat. Muddy Waters is inexpensive and I think has Wi-Fi, too. As I recall from last time very few people could afford food and alcohol so I chose a coffee shop. Maybe this winter or next year the northern Minnesota venue will come back and others can meet. -SusanLesch (talk) 02:51, 6 October 2008 (UTC) 

Muddy Waters
maps.google.com
2401 Lyndale Ave S
Minneapolis, MN 55405
(612) 872-2232
Friday October 10, 10PM (at night)
Please pass this invitation along.

Will attend

Regrets

2009 meetup

Location

  • I don't know that I'm up for organizing it but I'll certainly attend if at all possible and would be interested in seeing it happen again. Any thoughts on location? Uptown, Downtown Minneapolis and the U probably have the best transit options. On the other hand, we haven't been to St. Paul which could be interesting. I'm fairly ambiguous about the location myself. --BenFranske (talk) 04:58, 15 September 2009 (UTC)
    • Something which just sprung to mind as a possibility would be one of the Chatterbox Pub locations as it's local, generally well reviewed and has a variety of food and beverage options. --BenFranske (talk) 05:01, 15 September 2009 (UTC)
      • Not sure I can make it, but since the discussion came up, the U could be really packed, that's homecoming weekend (then again, I'm considering every game this season to be homecoming! -Colslax (talk) 21:53, 18 September 2009 (UTC)
St. Paul could be good. According to the Chatterbox Pub website, they have a location at 800 Cleveland Ave S. There are lots of places in that city to explore, and lots of other good places to eat, too. I like Mickey's Diner, but it's not big enough for a meetup. Jonathunder (talk) 15:51, 15 September 2009 (UTC)
There's also a place not far from that Chatterbox location, the Nook, at Hamline Avenue and West Randolph. They have great burgers, including the best Jucy Lucy I've had anywhere. Jonathunder (talk) 17:02, 15 September 2009 (UTC)
Where's St. Paul? Do they have a Lonely Planet guide for it? --Bobak (talk) 18:40, 15 September 2009 (UTC)
I think it's just a small appendix at the end of the Minneapolis guide. kmccoy (talk) 21:27, 15 September 2009 (UTC)
Ah-hah, I found it. It was under Day Trips. I wonder if I'll need to exchange money... --Bobak (talk) 20:25, 16 September 2009 (UTC)
Well, I'll be day tripping in from Greater Minnesota, so either St. Paul or another city in "Lesser Minnesota" would be fine. ;-) Jonathunder (talk) 16:35, 17 September 2009 (UTC)
Make sure your vaccinations are up to date. Last time I was on Grand Avenue I caught a bad case of Wobegonitis. --Bobak (talk) 17:37, 17 September 2009 (UTC)
Mmm, it's always a shame that I live in Northwestern Minnesota. - The New Age Retro Hippie used Ruler! Now, he can figure out the length of things easily. 22:56, 18 September 2009 (UTC)
Anywhere in the Twin Cities would probably be OK for me, though I don't know if I'll go or not. -- Aaron of Mpls (talk) 03:11, 19 September 2009 (UTC)

Went to the Chatterbox Pub on Ford Parkway and Cleveland Avenue last night. There was plenty of free parking nearby and it is on bus routes. The menu has variety and what we had was great. The beer and coffee were good, too. The staff were friendly. They showed me a meeting / party room in the back that could seat up to 50 people and has a pull down screen and a projector. They have other seating options, including tables outside if the weather is good. Jonathunder (talk) 22:46, 21 September 2009 (UTC)

I called and found out that Chatterbox Pub meeting room is booked all day October 10, but they can probably seat us in the main bar. Jonathunder (talk) 18:39, 23 September 2009 (UTC)
I'd be a little cautious about any location involving "probably". I've been bit by that word on several occasions involving getting people together. --Bobak (talk) 22:52, 23 September 2009 (UTC)
Did you happen to ask if they would have availability for the 17th or 24th? That might help us narrow down a date. --BenFranske (talk) 01:22, 24 September 2009 (UTC)
The banquet room is not booked at all on Sunday October 11. Jonathunder (talk) 13:57, 24 September 2009 (UTC)
If this starts to look a little unworkable, I remember Appraiser mentioned a Jucy Lucy place, that might be an interesting Minnesota thing to do at either Matt's or the 5-8... or both if people are feeling hearty. --Bobak (talk) 04:21, 24 September 2009 (UTC)
Matt's is smaller--it's a neighborhood bar--and there is sometimes a wait for a table, even without a large group. The 5-8 Club is larger and has its own parking lot. Jonathunder (talk) 13:52, 24 September 2009 (UTC)
The 5-8 Club would be reasonable for a group, though we might have to split up into a couple of tables depending on how many people we have and how busy they are at any particular time. I used to go there with coworkers for lunch on occasion, when I worked at Appletree Square in Bloomington, and the place could be pretty busy during lunch hours on weekdays. Weekends might be more reasonable, though. --Elkman (Elkspeak) 15:43, 24 September 2009 (UTC)
I just called the 5-8 Club. They often are busy for lunch on weekends, but they have a screened covered patio which they said usually has enough available seating for a large group. They do not take reservations, however. Jonathunder (talk) 17:09, 24 September 2009 (UTC)
Another option is Shamrocks at Randolph and West Seventh in St. Paul. They have the same owner and menu as the Nook, mentioned above, including a fantastic Jucy Lucy. They have three dozen tables. I called them, and they would take a reservation. They are not usually crowded during the day on Saturday. Jonathunder (talk) 16:48, 24 September 2009 (UTC)
How about a midday bar crawl? Or we could rent the PedalPub! (joking) --Bobak (talk) 17:16, 24 September 2009 (UTC)
If the Chatterbox is booked up How about the Happy Gnome in St. Paul or Merlin's Rest Pub in Mpls? --Myotus (talk) 23:42, 26 September 2009 (UTC)
I've never been to the Happy Gnome, but their website looks good, and they are reasonably close to the St. Paul Cathedral, the Minnesota History Center, and the State Capitol. Jonathunder (talk) 21:35, 27 September 2009 (UTC)
I called the Happy Gnome. They can accomodate a large group similar to what we have had in the past on a weekend afternoon, but with the understanding we won't all be served at once, due to the kitchen size. They will take a reservation for the party area of the dining room, which can seat 30 or so. It is currently free on both October 10 and 11. Saturday would be the regular bar menu; Sunday is brunch. Jonathunder (talk) 17:17, 30 September 2009 (UTC)
Looking at both menus, the prices are higher than at the Chatterbox Pub. Jonathunder (talk) 17:24, 30 September 2009 (UTC)

Date

While we continue discussion of possible locations above, let's see if we can find a date. How about Leif Erikson Day weekend: Saturday, October 10. Jonathunder (talk) 20:07, 16 September 2009 (UTC)

Works for me. BTW, the St. Paul Oktoberfest is also that day, from Noon until 11 PM, so visitors from out of town would have that added attraction to see later. – Wdfarmer (talk) 21:41, 18 September 2009 (UTC)
No good for me. The following weekend is much better, but I'm just one mostly inactive editor. Brain Rodeo (talk) 01:22, 19 September 2009 (UTC)
On the 10th I would prefer something later in the day/evening which would work better. The following weekend would be better except I may be going out of town... If we can push it to the 24th or a week earlier on the 3rd it would be best for me. --BenFranske (talk) 02:13, 19 September 2009 (UTC)
October 10th works for me so far. As long as we don't have a blizzard. But I'm not a night person. Noonish would be best for me. --Dennis Fernkes (talk) 11:20, 19 September 2009 (UTC)
10th will work for me if necessary but would prefer the 3rd or 17th. Grika Ⓣ 14:53, 21 September 2009 (UTC)
For me, any weekend in October except the 17th is fine. Jonathunder (talk) 15:47, 21 September 2009 (UTC)
October 10 works for me, 11:00, 12:00, or 1:00 would be best. I don't care where, but I've never had a Juicy Lucy.--Appraiser (talk) 17:22, 21 September 2009 (UTC)

Date summary so far: It sounds like at least a few interested people have conflicts on the 10th and 17th. For those that don't would the 3rd or 24th be preferable. The weather is probably going to be nicer on the 3rd (if that makes any difference) but it means we only have about a week and a half to let people know. Thoughts? --BenFranske (talk) 05:22, 22 September 2009 (UTC)

Whatever--Dennis Fernkes (talk) 10:26, 22 September 2009 (UTC)
I'm concerned the 3rd may be too soon to give enough notice to get a good turnout. I am open to the 24th if there is support for it. Jonathunder (talk) 19:30, 22 September 2009 (UTC)
Totally flexible. --Bobak (talk) 23:15, 22 September 2009 (UTC)
October 10 is the only Saturday in October that I wouild be able to make, but I don't feel strongly about attending this year.--Appraiser (talk) 04:35, 23 September 2009 (UTC)
October 10 or October 11 during the day are fine for me. --Elkman (Elkspeak) 15:43, 24 September 2009 (UTC)
Is there any other support for Sunday the 11th? It would work for me. --BenFranske (talk) 04:58, 25 September 2009 (UTC)
We should close on a date soon. Is Sunday, October 11 OK with the rest of those who are interested in attending? Jonathunder (talk) 19:56, 25 September 2009 (UTC)
Both October 10 and 11 Look good for me. --Myotus (talk) 23:20, 26 September 2009 (UTC)
Both the 10th and 11th work for me too. --Appraiser (talk) 03:42, 30 September 2009 (UTC)

To sum up so far: it sounds like October 11, Sunday, is the most popular date. Should we go with that, early afternoon? Jonathunder (talk) 17:27, 30 September 2009 (UTC)

Sounds good to me. Do we have a place in mind yet that is open Sundays? --Dennis Fernkes (talk) 18:54, 30 September 2009 (UTC)
The party room at the Highland Park Chatterbox Pub is free from 2 p.m. for the rest of the day on Oct. 11. Jonathunder (talk) 19:24, 30 September 2009 (UTC)
More info on the Chatterbox Pub in Highland Park. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Fernkes (talk • contribs) 19:39, 30 September 2009 (UTC)
Sunday probably works better for me (less things to schedule around). I don't care about location. --Bobak (talk) 21:27, 30 September 2009 (UTC)

The Chatterbox in St. Paul can reserve us at 1 p.m. Sunday, October 11. Jonathunder (talk) 22:58, 30 September 2009 (UTC)

1 PM on Sunday would be an ideal time for me. I've got the afternoon free until about 5 PM. --Elkman (Elkspeak) 23:08, 30 September 2009 (UTC)

Regrets

Can attend

1 p.m. Sunday, October 11, Chatterbox Pub, 800 Cleveland Avenue South (at Ford Parkway), St. Paul

Who Attended

(And will someone please identify back row, front row, left to right, etc. those shown in that great photo) Dennis Fernkes (talk) 19:33, 12 October 2009 (UTC)

Standing (left to right): Jonathunder, Bobak.
Seated (left to right): Myotus, Elkman, BenFranske.
Photographer: Chris.
Total attendance: six
Hey! Where can I see the photo? Myotus (talk) 00:28, 17 October 2009 (UTC)
This is actually the talk page for the Project Page, where the photo is displayed alongside the past photos. Great seeing you all! --Bobak (talk) 16:13, 17 October 2009 (UTC)

2010

Regular meetup

A few people have commented now. I propose we issue the following invitation: noon Sunday, 31 October 2010, Midtown Exchange Global Market, 820 East Lake Street, Minneapolis. (Halloween costumes optional.) Jonathunder (talk) 17:10, 14 October 2010 (UTC)

Date

I'm planning to be in the Twin Cities the weekend of Oct 30/31. If either of those days work for others, it would give us about a month to plan the time and place. Jonathunder (talk) 22:56, 27 September 2010 (UTC)

That works for me. I'm available either day but on Sunday I need to be home by 4:00. Right now I don't have anything on the schedule for Saturday. --BenFranske (talk) 19:24, 1 October 2010 (UTC)
I plan to see the Rocky Horror Picture Show at midnight on Saturday; free all day before that, as well as Sunday afternoon. Jonathunder (talk) 21:18, 1 October 2010 (UTC)
I am no longer available on Saturday the 30th. --BenFranske (talk) 04:58, 11 October 2010 (UTC)
How about midday Sunday, Oct. 31?
That would work for me though I will need to leave by 3:30 --BenFranske (talk) 01:41, 13 October 2010 (UTC)

Location

How about the Midtown Global Market there at 820 East Lake Street? It sort of is eclectic yet cohesive, just like Wikipedia. CJLippert (talk) 22:41, 12 October 2010 (UTC)

Is that in the old Sears Building? Jonathunder (talk) 23:16, 12 October 2010 (UTC)
Yeah. CJLippert (talk) 23:24, 12 October 2010 (UTC)
Then it has plently of good food options, space to socialize without needing a reservation, and may have free parking. (We should check on that.) It would be fairly convenient to public transportation, I think, as there are regular buses on Lake Street. It's also an interesting building with an article about it. Jonathunder (talk) 23:31, 12 October 2010 (UTC)
Their website says: "FREE PARKING with validation for up to 3 hours for Global Market customers at the Midtown Exchange Parking Ramp on 10th Ave S just north of Lake St. Please bring in your parking ticket and have it validated with any purchase (No minimum amount required)." It continues with: "A meter parking lot is also available on Elliot Avenue. Please note that customers parking at this location cannot get their tickets validated." CJLippert (talk) 23:42, 12 October 2010 (UTC)
The parking ramp is actually across the street from the Sears building; north of Lake Street and east of the Sears building. Finding your way around inside the Midtown Global Market can be a challenge given the many vendors.--Dennis Fernkes (talk) 10:49, 13 October 2010 (UTC)
Unless it has changed since I was there about a year ago, there is an open seating area on the north side of the market where people could hopefully find a group. If a volunteer or two could greet people at the main entrance a bit before and after the start time, that might help. Jonathunder (talk) 17:10, 14 October 2010 (UTC)
The Midtown Global Market is a great location, a place my wife have enjoyed on a lunch date for my birthday a couple years ago. Public transportation access is good, as is access from the regional bike trails. Yes, the food is eclectic and nourishing, much like Wikipedia. -- WeijiBaikeBianji (talk) 16:13, 19 October 2010 (UTC)

Can attend

Regrets

Post Oct. 31st Meet-Up

  • Thanks to everyone who showed up at the Meet-Up. It was my first one and it was interesting seeing the faces behind handles. Looking forward to doing the next one - take care... Dinkytown talk 22:18, 31 October 2010 (UTC)
Congratulations to all of you who made it to today's meetup, which exactly coincided with a meeting of my nonprofit board of directors that was scheduled after the meetup was announced. Thanks to everyone who organized today's meetup. How may I help a next meetup happen sooner than a year from now? -- WeijiBaikeBianji (talk, how I edit) 00:02, 1 November 2010 (UTC)

Second meetup for 2010 (or early 2011)?

I see more regrets than confirmations of availability for the 31 October 2010 meetup at Metro Global Market. I would be agreeable to scheduling another meetup soon, adding to the frequency of Minnesota meetups, which have been annual for the last several years. What do the rest of you think about this? I would also be proposing a location in the Twin Cities metro area, somewhere where people could come and go as fits their schedule. (I used to schedule informal meetups for another organization on this basis, and that seemed to work reasonably well for fitting people's busy schedules.) Your suggestions about when and where to do this would be much appreciated. -- WeijiBaikeBianji (talk) 16:27, 27 October 2010 (UTC)

I would suggest, once after very 3 Twin Cities meetup, a non-Twin Cities site (such as Duluth, Bemidji, Brainerd, Fargo/Moorehead, Worthington) to encourage other Wikipedians to attend these events. CJLippert (talk) 17:32, 27 October 2010 (UTC)
I would make the trip to attend one of those, but would not be familiar with fun places to meet. If someone in one of those places proposes a meetup soon, that would be very kind. -- WeijiBaikeBianji (talk) 17:56, 27 October 2010 (UTC)
Are there any further suggestions for a place and date for a next Minnesota meetup? Have fun, all of you who attend this Sunday's meetup on the 31st. -- WeijiBaikeBianji (talk, how I edit) 22:44, 29 October 2010 (UTC)
I would encourage you folks to use the WP:Geonotice tool as well for the next one, to help attract more participants.--Pharos (talk) 16:30, 1 November 2010 (UTC)
I have just submitted a Geonotice request for discussion of the next meetup. Thank you for the suggestion. -- WeijiBaikeBianji (talk, how I edit) 15:00, 3 November 2010 (UTC)
I would be open to traveling to somewhere within a reasonable (i.e. 3 hours) of the Twin Cities for a meet-up. It would be fun to do some drive-by photography on the way. And I regret missing the last one (but I did get some good NRHP photos in SoCal). --Bobak (talk) 23:58, 2 November 2010 (UTC)
Does St. Cloud sound feasible for a meetup? That is closer to Fargo along I-94 than is the Metro, and would be a change of pace for the Metro people. -- WeijiBaikeBianji (talk, how I edit) 01:12, 3 November 2010 (UTC)
I like St. Cloud. Maybe somewhere on the campus of St. Cloud State? CJLippert (talk) 17:33, 3 November 2010 (UTC)
I'd be up for that. --Bobak (talk) 18:48, 8 November 2010 (UTC)

Suggestions

There is interest in another meetup soon. Because of other demands on my time right now, I probably will not be able to contribute much in helping organize it, but I'll offer some general observations from my experience:

  • All of the past meetups happened because one or a few people proposed and promoted the idea. Be bold, and they will come.
  • You may get an attendance of about half a dozen for every hundred active editors you notify.
  • The best locations are those which have available free parking and public transportation on weekends, which either don't require a reservation for a group to meet or are highly accommodating of an unpredictable size, are not overly noisy or overcrowded, and where people will feel welcome even if they order only a beverage. It's hard to find a place that meets all of those criteria.
  • Have specific directions on the meetup page and a sign or something else people will recognize to find the group, especially for a large location.

Jonathunder (talk) 21:25, 3 November 2010 (UTC)

Shall I print out 3 File:Wikipedia-logo-v2-en.svg at 2000px on 11"×17" or larger for 3 regular meetup organizers/attendees so that there would be at least 1 copy of the sign available whenever there is a meetup? CJLippert (talk) 18:46, 9 November 2010 (UTC)

Can the MN Historical Society Host Wikipedia Meetup Event at the MN History Center?

I would like to find out if folks are interested in this.
The Minnesota Historical Society (where I work) is interested in hosting an event for Minnesota Wikipedians. However there is an agenda. MHS is beginning to work on an online Minnesota Encyclopedia and would like input from the Minnesota Wikipedia community on how this can work with Wikipedia. Wikipedia is the largest referrer to the History Topics and Finding Aids pages on the MNHS.org site. Wikipedia has been doing quite a bit of work with museums like the Powerhouse Museum and Brooklyn Museum to add images from their collections and the Minnesota Encyclopedia offers a chance to offer not just images but a possible place to add and cite content from. I have met with some of you at the 2009 Meetup and since then I have been trying to think of ways MHS can work more with Minnesota Wikipedians. The Minnesota Encyclopedia might be one way. Please past along your thoughts on this (the Meetup not the Minnesota Encyclopedia - for now). MHS can provide the food but alas not the booze. Myotus (talk) 20:32, 5 November 2010 (UTC)

I like this idea. Others interested? Jonathunder (talk) 21:38, 5 November 2010 (UTC)
I will see what I can do to pull together other resources. I am arranging a tour of the State Historic Preservation Office and of our stacks. However, I want to make sure it isn't overly long or unfocused. Myotus (talk) 17:12, 9 November 2010 (UTC)
The library runs classes on Saturday mornings,[4] and there's a lot more information linked through its website.[5]Kablammo (talk) 21:46, 8 November 2010 (UTC)

Would Saturday November 20th sometime between 11am - 1pm work, or is that to soon? If we can get an approximate head count we can order lunches for that day. I am not sure what I can do about parking costs. That is usually pretty inflexible. Parking is $5 in the lot or you can park on Summit Hill and walk down. Erica Hartmann will be here to talk about the online Minnesota Encyclopedia project. Also, I can give a tour of the State Historic Preservation Office NRHP archives after if folks would like. Myotus (talk) 16:36, 9 November 2010 (UTC)

For me, it would be easier if after 1pm, say 1pm—3pm or 2pm—4pm. CJLippert (talk) 18:36, 9 November 2010 (UTC)
(edit conflict) Is that 11:00am to 1:00pm timing the latest possible hour on a Saturday? I have a work conflict most Saturday mid-days at that hour. -- WeijiBaikeBianji (talk, how I edit) 18:39, 9 November 2010 (UTC)
That should work for me, especially if at 11 to 1. Looks interesting. —innotata 19:56, 9 November 2010 (UTC)
I think we might be looking at starting at 12:30pm starting time on Saturday. The cafe hours on Saturday are more limited from 11am-1pm. So in order to get lunch... :-) Myotus (talk) 22:46, 9 November 2010 (UTC)
The personalized tour and peek at the archives is an opportunity I'm excited about. The offer of lunch is a generous and thoughtful idea, but if the choice is between that and more people being able to participate with a later start, I'd be in favor of the time that works for the most people. And for the staff too, of course. We are dependent on how late they are willing to stay on a Saturday. Jonathunder (talk) 23:37, 9 November 2010 (UTC)

It was great to meet all of you who attended today's meetup. Thanks to the Minnesota Historical Society for the hospitality and the news about channels of collaboration in research. -- WeijiBaikeBianji (talk, how I edit) 00:22, 21 November 2010 (UTC)

I think we have an agenda!

Look for this sign

Does this work for folks? and can a template like Template:Minnesota_meetup be used to notify folks?

Where: Minnesota History Center, 345 Kellogg Blvd., Saint Paul
When: Saturday, November 20th
1:00-1:30pm Social/Lunch
1:30-2:30pm Minnesota Encyclopedia Presentation/Discussion (continue with lunch)
2:30-3:30pm Tours: Archives and State Historic Preservation Office|NRHP archives
Also: If you want lunch and free parking confirm here by November 17th.
To get free parking that day tell the parking attendant your Wikipedia user name, we will have you on a list.
Myotus (talk) 22:36, 10 November 2010 (UTC)

That looks good. I should be able to be there by the time the encyclopedia discussion begins. Thanks to you and to the museum staff for the hospitality. I'll defer to someone else to do the notification. P.S. If lunch can be eaten after lunch is served, I'd be glad to eat it during the "continue with lunch" part of the encyclopedia discussion. And, yes, parking validation would be helpful, as I will drive over from work. -- WeijiBaikeBianji (talk, how I edit) 22:31, 10 November 2010 (UTC)
I can revise the template. (I created the original.) If anyone is willing to help spam invite people, it would be appreciated. Jonathunder (talk) 23:33, 10 November 2010 (UTC)
Is inviting people mostly a matter of identifying Minnesotans and attaching the template to their talk pages, or is there more to it than that? I could visit the same talk pages with the template that I recently visited with my question about a next meetup (which is now happening soon, thanks to Myotus's kind efforts). -- WeijiBaikeBianji (talk, how I edit) 00:01, 11 November 2010 (UTC)
That's essentially it. What I've done in the past is go through past attendees, members of the Minnesota Wikiproject, editors in the category Wikipedians in Minnesota, and others I know are in Minnesota, check whether they have edited in the last few months, and if they have, add the invitation on their talk page. Since that was done recently, we can reduce our work by inviting those whose talk pages come up in "what links here" for the template created this year. (That process has been a few hours of work for each of the past meetups.) Jonathunder (talk) 00:57, 11 November 2010 (UTC)
Here's a first draft of the invite template:
  In the area? You're invited to the
   May 2018 Minnesota User Group Meeting
  Date: Saturday, 20 November 2010
  Time: 1:00 - 3:30
(click here for full agenda)
R.S.V.P. by Nov. 17 for free lunch + parking
  Place: Minnesota History Center
345 Kellogg Blvd, St. Paul, Minnesota
44°57′00″N 93°06′20″W / 44.95°N 93.1055°W / 44.95; -93.1055
  
If the agenda is on a separate page we can revise it as needed and the template is less crowded. Please suggest changes. Jonathunder (talk) 00:04, 11 November 2010 (UTC)
A good-looking template, and a smart idea about using "what links here" to find recently active editors. How about I do invitations for user names from numerals to M, and someone else do N to Z? -- WeijiBaikeBianji (talk, how I edit) 01:29, 11 November 2010 (UTC)
"What links here" does not sort alphabetically--it's (basically) the order in which the pages were created, from oldest to newest. If you want to follow this link and start from the top down, I will work from the bottom up. (Anyone else who wants to jump into the middle is also welcome.) Jonathunder (talk) 04:44, 11 November 2010 (UTC)
Looks great! Thank you for putting the template together and posting invitations. Myotus (talk) 14:31, 12 November 2010 (UTC)
This sounds great! I can't wait. --Bobak (talk) 23:12, 12 November 2010 (UTC)
Good to hear. I took the liberty of putting that on the R.S.V.P. page. Jonathunder (talk) 23:35, 12 November 2010 (UTC)

If anyone has some time to follow this link and start from the top of that list, putting an invite template user talk pages, it would help get the word out. I have already done most of them, working from the bottom up, but I will be traveling this weekend without much Internet access. Jonathunder (talk) 23:35, 12 November 2010 (UTC)

I covered everyone down to User talk:BenFranske. --Bobak (talk) 00:14, 13 November 2010 (UTC)
Thanks, Bobak. I'll work down from there, and try to get to where Jonathunder got by working up. (I got my notice pretty early.) Many hands make light work. -- WeijiBaikeBianji (talk, how I edit) 00:21, 13 November 2010 (UTC)
I found only a few who hadn't already been invited (thanks to Jonathunder and Bobak, and perhaps other helpers) and invited them under the section heading "20 November 2010 meetup." But I didn't find many of those before I mostly found people who had already been invited under the heading "New meetup" or the like. -- WeijiBaikeBianji (talk, how I edit) 03:37, 13 November 2010 (UTC)
Thanks to everyone who helped. I'm off for a while. See you at the Meetup. Jonathunder (talk) 12:21, 13 November 2010 (UTC)

2010 MHS follow up

A thousand thanks to the people of the Minnesota Historical Society for their hospitality, which made the most recent meetup a great event. I hope it bears good fruit.

A couple of housekeeping suggestions. Would anyone object if I move this and associated pages to Meetup/Minnesota? We have had almost as many meetups outside Minneapolis as in that great city, and it may be less confusing that way. Also, I suggest we archive the older talk sections (but not delete them). Jonathunder (talk) 18:19, 22 November 2010 (UTC)

Agree, but I just put in an Autoarchiving bot marker earlier today on the talk page (but not on the project page), but before it does anything, we should move these pages from /Minneapolis to /Minnesota and adjust the bot tag appropriately. CJLippert (talk) 19:11, 22 November 2010 (UTC)
Pages (and Meetup template) moved to /Minnesota and bot parameters adjusted. CJLippert (talk) 19:22, 22 November 2010 (UTC)
I'd like to ask that the MHS do its housekeeping chores. Over a year ago I wrote asking why, for example, the Ard Godfrey house is not on this list. The person who wrote back said the MHS updates the list quarterly. (Which is obviously not true.) Thanks. -SusanLesch (talk) 16:43, 28 December 2010 (UTC)

2011

Wikipedia 10th anniversary events

Hi Wiki-Minnesotans! Great to see your your growing meetup events and blossoming relationship with the MHS. I'd like to let you know about all the Wikipedia 10th anniversary worldwide events for January 2011, and maybe you'd be interested in doing something in Minneapolis then too :) — Pharos (talk) 13:47, 23 November 2010 (UTC)

Hey everyone. Are you guys interested in getting some free 10th anniversary merchandise (t-shirts, stickers, buttons) from the Foundation for your meetup? I know it looks like it's going to be relatively small, but that's okay. If you want that (and some more publicity) you should do two things:

  1. Create a page for Minneapolis on the anniversary wiki with the who/what/when of the meetup. (This doesn't have to be instead of the regular Wikipedia:Meetup notice, it's just so everyone can see what is going on for the anniversary.)
  2. Email me with a shipping address and contact info. This could be a personal address, PO box, or whatever, just as long as it's reliable enough to send the merch to.

The deadline for us shipping things is early January (before the third would be best), so I wouldn't wait. Steven Walling at work 21:53, 21 December 2010 (UTC)

email sent htom (talk) 18:34, 27 December 2010 (UTC)

Page created, I hope. htom (talk) 19:20, 22 December 2010 (UTC)

Proposed Time and Place: Brit's Pub

Granted, weather may or may not be cooperative, but how about this:

Confirm attendance at the 10th anniversary event page
When—Saturday, January 15, 2011, from 1pm to 4pm
Where—Brit's Pub (site of the first meetup)
Brit's Pub & Eating Establishment
1110 Nicollet Mall
Minneapolis, MN 55403

CJLippert (talk) 21:43, 22 December 2010 (UTC)(Strike-through and attendance confirmation notes added. CJLippert (talk) 23:22, 27 December 2010 (UTC)

That's 11th & Nicollet in downtown Minneapolis, right? Hate downtowns, but sometimes they're really handy. htom (talk) 02:37, 23 December 2010 (UTC)
If you pick this, you should put a section on the front side of the page for it pretty soon.--Pharos (talk) 17:14, 23 December 2010 (UTC)
Sorry for butting in as an out-of-towner here, but I've gone ahead and put these tentative details up on the front side.--Pharos (talk) 22:45, 25 December 2010 (UTC)
I've now listed this page up on {{Meetup}}, tho I'm not really sure if you folks wanted this page or tenwiki:Minneapolis-St.Paul to be the main page for this event.--Pharos (talk) 22:43, 27 December 2010 (UTC)
People seem to be using this page, so let's go with that. I'll try to keep the names updated at ten.wikipedia. htom (talk) 22:43, 28 December 2010 (UTC)
BTW, the geonotice still points to this talk page, rather than to the front side or the tenwiki page. You folks might want to change that.--Pharos (talk) 16:46, 4 January 2011 (UTC)

Somebody has created a page at: http://ten.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minneapolis-St.Paul.

Um. May we bring our "favourite" sockpuppet with us? Otherwise, maybe instead a human friend or two may be nice. CJLippert (talk) 21:14, 13 January 2011 (UTC)

Attending \ Declining

(I'll copy names from here over to the ten.wikipedia page, and vice-versa.) htom (talk) 22:45, 28 December 2010 (UTC)

I won't be able to make it to a 10th anniversary event, as I'll be travelling. Have a great time! —innotata 15:41, 24 December 2010 (UTC)

I can try and make it, I live near Minneapolis, RandMC (talk) 22:06, 28 December 2010 (UTC)

I might actually try to make this. It's a long drive (~six or seven hours), but I might give it a shot. Where is Brit's Pub? Ed [talk] [majestic titan] 09:20, 27 December 2010 (UTC)
Brit's Pub: website
Street address: 1110 Nicollet Mall, Minneapolis, MN 55403
Coordinates: 44°58′22″N 93°16′33″W / 44.972692°N 93.275921°W / 44.972692; -93.275921
- Jonathunder (talk) 14:43, 27 December 2010 (UTC)

Coming, Jonathunder? The ed17?

Attending (listed on the other page)
BillWeir [6]
BenFranske
Bobak – Brief appearance (added by CJLippert)
CJLippert – Will be there 10min before to put up a banner-type of thing so that we can find each other easier.
Elkman
Galileo01
Jonathunder – will not be there at the start, due to other commitments, but will try to stop in
McGhiever
OtterSmith – Not sure when I'll arrive; I have a meeting in Bloomington that should end by noon. I've got the SWAG, and will be bringing it.
RandMC
SixWingedSeraph – I will be there.
WeijiBaikeBianji – I expect to be there. I look forward to seeing all of you. Ten years ago I was living overseas. I'll update the other page too.
Declining
I won't know until the 10th, probably. The 15th/16th will be my first weekend back at college, and I need to make sure I don't have anything urgent to do (work, homework) before committing. Ed [talk] [majestic titan] 05:07, 29 December 2010 (UTC)
I will probably not be able to attend. My apologies! Please give me a heads up for any future events, however. Ed [talk] [majestic titan] 21:51, 5 January 2011 (UTC)
Bobak, unfortunately, due to some last minute scheduling I can't make it, have fun today! I was really hoping to see if I could get people to help me tackle the Coney Island of the West at SHPO. --Bobak (talk) 17:40, 15 January 2011 (UTC)
Psyche! Looks like I was able to make it (for at least a few minutes) :-) --Bobak (talk) 22:26, 16 January 2011 (UTC)
Tentative
I live a few blocks away & would like to join if I am around Rajohnas (talk) 16:25, 12 January 2011 (UTC)
We'd love to have you! Jonathunder (talk) 19:14, 13 January 2011 (UTC)

Lessons learned

Party's over, I had a great time; interesting discussions. Thank you all for paying your bills and leaving good tips. In no particular order:

  • Many more XXL and XL shirts in the next distribution.
  • Larger nametags, for both username and conversation name.
  • Should have sent the camera around again,
  • Find a way deal with the "I don't want to be photographed" problem.
  • CJLippert did a great job with the banner.
  • I'll save the buttons for the future.
  • Larger table, scheme to seat sixteen.

Hope to see you all, and many more, next time. Thanks for coming! htom (talk) 02:44, 16 January 2011 (UTC)htom (talk) 18:39, 16 January 2011 (UTC)

Thanks for your large part in arranging the event. Yes, as a meeting planner many a time, I've learned that a name tag can scarcely be too big. It was great of you to bring the Sharpie along for writing on the tags we had. I've always carried one in my pocket (as yesterday) since I observed how often meetings have the tags, but nothing bold to write on them with. Indeed, the banner was great, and the conversation was very fun. -- WeijiBaikeBianji (talk, how I edit) 22:04, 16 January 2011 (UTC)

Join 'Wikimedians Active in Local Regions of the United States' (WALRUS)!

We'd like to invite a representative from the group who should have some experience in organizing the local meetups, to join the Wikimedians Active in Local Regions of the United States (WALRUS) committee to help advance real-life Wikimedian activities in the US.--Pharos (talk) 22:14, 11 March 2011 (UTC)

We'd also love to invite wiki-Minnesotans to join wikimediaus-l, where we already discussing The Great American Wiknic :)--Pharos (talk) 00:40, 11 April 2011 (UTC)
Now that Wikinic planning is going so smoothly, how about Minnesota getting some representation on the WALRUS committee to help advance real-life Wikimedian activities in the US?--Pharos (talk) 15:58, 9 May 2011 (UTC)
Beyond meetups, some good future outreach along these lines might be a Wikipedia:Wikipedia Takes Your City or Wikipedia:Workshop.--Pharos (talk) 20:43, 22 June 2011 (UTC)

Wiknic2011

Have a great idea for a local park to host The Great American Wiknic in Minnesota this June? Add it to the growing list here: Wikipedia:Wiknic#Cities and parks :)--Pharos (talk) 21:14, 17 April 2011 (UTC)

Proposed Time and Place: Minnehaha Park

Look for this sign

I was thinking about this and I want to float this idea:

Where: Picnic Shelter E, Wabun Picnic and Recreation Area, Minnehaha Park, Minneapolis (Coordinates: 44°54′54″N 93°12′20″W / 44.914988°N 93.205551°W / 44.914988; -93.205551)
When: Saturday, June 25—12:00pm to 3:00pm
Website: Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board: Minnehaha Park
  • Easily accessable by 50th Street / Minnehaha Park station of the Hiawatha Line or bus, walk, bike, or car... and even by plane via MSP and Hiawatha Line (from either Terminal 1 Station or Terminal 2 station to 50th Street / Minnehaha Park station).
  • Food and drink options nearby (or bring your own... maybe even to share!)
  • If driving, free parking available at 46th Ave. S. Lots of the Wabun Picnic and Recreation Area (parking is not free at the Minnehaha Falls Picnic and Recreation Area of the Park.

Well, folks. What do you think? Yes? No? Maybe? CJLippert (talk) 22:08, 4 May 2011 (UTC)

Probably will work for me. —innotata 22:25, 4 May 2011 (UTC)
Are there picnic shelters nearby? Is it possible to reserve one? I would note that the rain date, Sunday, is also when the largest parade in Minnesota happens, downtown. Saturday should work for me, though. Jonathunder (talk) 17:27, 6 May 2011 (UTC)
OK, yes. Thanks for reminding me of that huge regional event! Well, there are picnic shelters there. On the Minnehaha Falls Picnic and Recreation Area of the park, there is the Minnehaha Pavilion. Minneapolis requests reservations made for it. Farther east by 550 yards is the Wabun Picnic and Recreation Area of the park; there are not only free parking and picnic shelters (first-come, first-served), but also a playground and a wading pool, though Wabun, closer to the Mississippi River, may be a hike from the train station/bus route for those who are physically out-of-shape. The advantage of the Minnehaha Pavilion (other than being right there at the park entrance) is that it also houses a restaurant and is right by the Falls, but Wabun area may also be condusive to expore the park a bit more... maybe as a group activity? Also, with the picnic shelter, we really wouldn't need to have a rain date. CJLippert (talk) 18:54, 6 May 2011 (UTC)
The City of Minneapolis required reserving the site, so I just did. The area is available to us from 9am to 3pm (Park request 3pm-4pm be set aside as a transition time for clean-up, set-up, etc.), but I have other commitments until noon just across the River, but I can be there at 12:15. Though I won't be there until that time, if someone would like to get there beforehand and get the grill going, you may be hero to those who want grilled food products. CJLippert (talk) 21:11, 9 May 2011 (UTC)
I will work on a template for this and the notifications as we did for previous events. Jonathunder (talk) 22:17, 11 May 2011 (UTC)
Thanks! CJLippert (talk) 00:45, 12 May 2011 (UTC)

If this picnic becomes a repeated event, we should have one at a state park sometime. Jonathunder (talk) 01:52, 12 May 2011 (UTC)

Never attended a Wiki event before, is there any formal sign up or something else to fill out? Jim Henderson (talk) 19:38, 21 June 2011 (UTC)
No, Jim. Just stop on by. Bring something to share! CJLippert (talk) 15:58, 22 June 2011 (UTC)

Attending \ Declining

Attending
Declining

Lessons learned

Great turn out. We had some light sprinkles in the park, with 9 Wikipedia editors and 7 Wikipedia users getting together, sharing cookies, brownies, cake, chips, fruit, water, etc. But there were some minor gathering hiccoughs for the "Lessons learned":

  1. There seemed to be a lot of confusion by non-editors who kept on asking if one had to "register" or "sign-in" for the Great American Wicnic. New editors also didn't realise that when they put their name on the list of "Attending\Declining" that this was a form of letting the rest of the attendees know on if they're making a showing or not.
  2. If grilling, designate a "Charcoal person"
  3. In setting a meeting location in a park with tables, actually verify the picnic area do have shelters and not just read about shelters at the site registration.
  4. The picnic site on paper and aerial maps looked great. But in reality, it was hard to get to and find because it was bit too off the beaten track. (Lot of folks walked around Minnehaha Park, lost.) We had large signs about the picnic area, but in a park setting, probably series of smaller signs with arrows saying "This way for the Meetup", directing people to the spot would have helped.
  5. Have the picnic tables that are either in large enough cluster or be capable of moving into a large cluster. (As this was not possible, we all just crammed onto a central picnic table and the rest just hovered around the picnic table.)
  6. Picnic turn-out was great. We think this was because unlike other Meetups, this one, like the Wiki10, had national attention on all site visitors, which encouraged even the casual users to join. So, maybe for future Meetups, it should coincide with other nation-wide/world-wide Meetup ventures.

In addition, we had brain-stormed on other places for a Meetup. Here were some suggestions for specialised Meetups:

  • One of the local county's historical library (especially if collections tour could be made—as this was a valuable tool we discovered at the MNHS meetup last November)
  • One of the local college/university with specialised collections that can be accessed for research (again, a variation of the above)
  • One of the local cultural centres (again, a variation of the above)

However, no consensus was reached for a specific, designated meeting location for these nation-wide/world-wide Meetup ventures. CJLippert (talk) 01:39, 26 June 2011 (UTC)

Great summary of lessons learned. I too should have scoped out the fastest way to get there, in the interest of spending more time actually at the Wiknic, which was a very good occasion. I was glad to see old friends and new. I'd be very interested in helping to arrange the next meet-up. Yes, geonotices seem to be good for turnout. I'll be seeing some wikipedians, wearing Wikipedia 10th anniversary garb, next week at a national conference. Enjoy Minnesota's summer weather; I hope to see all of you again soon. -- WeijiBaikeBianji (talk, how I edit) 04:18, 26 June 2011 (UTC)
I wasn't sure if anyone else would be grilling. Maybe I should have asked first. It wasn't a big deal for me, though. I didn't realize that the Wabun Picnic Area had two separate roads to access it, and that our site was actually on the lower road that went to the Minnesota Veterans Home. Again, not a big deal. Maybe the Minneapolis Park Board should put up a map of the picnic area at the shelter near the top, for the benefit of other people who are confused and looking for their picnic groups. As far as the actual gathering went, it was a good time with good conversation on a number of eclectic topics. --Elkman (Elkspeak) 15:39, 27 June 2011 (UTC)

Wikipedia loves libraries

Where: Central Library, 90 W. 4th St., Saint Paul [8]
When: Saturday, October 22nd
1:00-2:00pm Social
2:00-2:45pm Tour of special research collections (e.g. Saint Paul history, F. Scott Fitzgerald, World War I aviation)
3:00-3:45pm Demonstration of online research resources (e.g. databases)
4:00-5:00pm Snacks & exploration time
Parking: Metered street parking or pay ramps

Attending/Declining

Attending
Declining

Initial discussion

Copied from the Wikipedia loves libraries talk page to prompt discussion and perhaps planning here:

It's been a busy summer for me, but I've been thinking about how to write up our discussion at the Minnesota Wiknic. We talked about future events, and having something at a library was one idea. (Other ideas, which perhaps we can consider for next year, were museums and other cultural institutions.) We found the global notice brought many people who have never attended a meetup before, including some who don't edit much but are primarily readers. This has started me thinking about how we might use these events as outreach to interested readers and beginning editors. Perhaps experienced editors could bring laptops to the library event and be prepared to show how editing works. We could offer to get newbies started right there, and show them help and mentorship resources within Wikipedia. We could select some things we want a new editor to know, such as citing sources, and show them how to do those things. Thoughts? Jonathunder (talk) 14:22, 24 July 2011 (UTC)

Including aspects of newbie wiki-workshops sounds great, we've done a bit of this with Wikipedia:Meetup/NYC/Workshop recently.--Pharos (talk) 01:46, 4 August 2011 (UTC)
I don't know if I qualify as a new user (about 3 months of editing under my belt), but I'd be interested. I'd be especially interested in learning about acquiring public domain images for Wikipedia and Commons. It'd be nice to know what the rules and logistics are at a given library or museum. Stuff like whether one might be able to scan there, etc... Cloveapple (talk) 21:37, 6 August 2011 (UTC)

Anyone have a good idea of a local library to host Wikipedia:Wikipedia Loves Libraries in Minnesota this October? It would be great if you could get in touch with your local library ASAP so the event can be ready in time, and make an awesome successor to the Great American Wiknic :)--Pharos (talk) 19:32, 2 September 2011 (UTC)

I know we've met in Minneapolis and St Paul rather a lot, but I could almost certainly arrange something with St. Paul Public Library, either downtown or at a neighborhood branch. McGhiever (talk) 22:27, 2 September 2011 (UTC)
As long as the branch doesn't involve the University Avenue Light Rail re-alignment construction or the Snelling Avenue road constructions. CJLippert (talk) 16:31, 4 September 2011 (UTC)
I may actually be able to attend if one of you can get it set up. Will be keeping an eye on this. Ed [talk] [majestic titan] 11:17, 5 September 2011 (UTC)
Thanks, Mcghiever. I was hoping you'd be able to help. Jonathunder (talk) 13:02, 5 September 2011 (UTC)

Date proposal

Since we are already well into September (how did *that* happen?) we may need to the end of October to plan. Does Saturday, 29 Oct 2011 work? Jonathunder (talk) 12:20, 13 September 2011 (UTC)

Well, if we hold something at the Saint Paul Public Library, I need to confirm the availability of space and staff, so I don't want to promote a random date just yet. I hope to have something more definitive by Sep 19th. -McGhiever (talk) 22:00, 13 September 2011 (UTC)
OK. Again, I am so glad you are working on this. Jonathunder (talk) 16:29, 16 September 2011 (UTC)
May I propose Saturday, Oct 22, at Central Library in downtown St. Paul? We have some wiggle room as far as time of day (the building is open 9:30–5:30). Do people prefer morning or afternoon? I'm envisioning a tour of the library's resources (such as the St. Paul Collection of city history, and various databases), after which we can retreat to a meeting room for snacks, discussion, and possible editing via laptop. -McGhiever (talk) 19:17, 22 September 2011 (UTC)
Thanks! I think I can make that day. Maybe we could contact the James J. Hill Reference Library, too, as they share that great building. Jonathunder (talk) 20:02, 22 September 2011 (UTC)
As far as time of day, for those of us coming from out of town, I would suggest afternoon. Jonathunder (talk) 15:29, 23 September 2011 (UTC)
I also can only make it later in the afternoon, and remembering the discussion at the end of the last meetup, yes, will be the case for people coming from out of town. —innotata 17:16, 23 September 2011 (UTC)
Sometime in the afternoon? I think I'll be able to make that... Ed [talk] [majestic titan] 06:00, 5 October 2011 (UTC)
Forgot I never posted a definitive time. Shall we say 1:00–5:00 pm? -McGhiever (talk) 04:03, 7 October 2011 (UTC)
I'm most likely going to make it late then; when you're getting the schedule together, can you give a way for people to join late, after any tour for example? —innotata 17:47, 7 October 2011 (UTC)
The proposed time sounds good. Would my two Wikipedia-using and library-using children be able to attend? They are both preteens, but able to behave well during conversations among learned adults like all of you. -- WeijiBaikeBianji (talk, how I edit) 20:19, 10 October 2011 (UTC)
Absolutely! Libraries are pretty strong advocates of all-ages learning. -McGhiever (talk) 00:15, 11 October 2011 (UTC)

Review of event

It would be great if you could add a couple of sentences to the front side of this page describing how the event went, and activity highlights etc.--Pharos (talk) 03:28, 15 November 2011 (UTC)

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