MediaWiki Developer Meet-Up 2009

This event is now complete. Please see the discussion notes and the wrap up post on the tech blog. Pictures are available on commons and elsewhere.

tinyurl: mwmeet09 The MediaWiki Developer Meet-Up will take place April 3.-5. in Berlin, at the c-base. The event is for everyone who works on MediaWiki, writes extensions, builds bots, writes scripts for the toolserver, or is otherwise interested in the technical aspects of Wikimedia.

The event will take place in parallel to the Wikimedia Foundation's board meeting and chapter meeting, so there will be a lot of Wikimedians in Berlin at the time. We plan to have a party to bring everyone together and give an opportunity for developers, board members and chapter people to mingle.

The meet-up will be a loose BarCamp-like event so topics and schedule are largely up to you. The goal is to get to know new aspects of MediaWiki and Wikimedia and to develop ideas on how we can make things even better. And of course to have a lot of fun with wiki hackers from around the world!

Contact

 * talk page
 * mail: <[mailto:conference@wikimedia.de conference@wikimedia.de]>
 * µblog: http://identi.ca/group/wmcon (rss)
 * IRC: #wmcon on freenode
 * phone hotline: +49-162-8966441 . we will answer this line from thursday afternoon until monday morning.

Organizers

 * Daniel Kinzler
 * Henriette Fiebig
 * Thomas Holbach
 * Łukasz Garczewski

If you want to help too, talk to us.

Registration
Registration is now closed. We are overbooked.

Outline
A rough outline of what is going to happen

What we will do

 * The meet-up is designed to encourage discussions rather than "frontal" presentations.
 * Standard slide shows are discuraged, live demos and hacking is welcome.
 * The event is moderated by Daniel "Duesentrieb" Kinzler and Łukasz "TOR"  Garczewski. Henriette Fiebig will be around to organize anything we might   need.


 * On Friday, we say hi, and collect things we want to talk about. We group them  roughly into four main topics.
 * Then we get together in groups according to these topics, and figure out what  we want to have sessions on on Saturday morning.
 * On Friday evening, the c-base becomes the Wiki Lounge, open to all. Perhaps a  few people come over from the chapter meeting.


 * On Saturday, there will be six Sessions of 45 minutes each, with 15 minute breaks in between.
 * We have three sessions in the morning and three in the afternoon. Lunch is  provided.
 * The morning sessions have been set up the day before. We decide on the  afternoon sessions as we go along.
 * There are five groups that can meet in parallel, about 10 people each. This  gives us 30 slots total slots.
 * Only one group at a time can use a beamer. It should be reserved for live  demos etc.


 * At the end of the afternoon, we should come up with a few key results for  each main topic
 * We pick two people for each of the four main topics to present these results  at the chapter meeting
 * On Saturday evening, we have a party, with some DJs and food. Hopefully, more  people from the chapter meeting come over.


 * On Sunday morning, we have breakfast at the c-base
 * The people picked the day before go off to the wrap-up session at the chapter  meeting, to present our results.
 * The c-base remains open all day and evening, so people can sit and talk.

/Notes

Venue
Wikipedia says about the c-base:
 * c-base e. V. is a non-profit association of about 300 members located in Berlin, Germany. The purpose of this association is to increase knowledge and skills pertaining to computer software, hardware and data networks. The association is engaged in numerous related activities. For example the society has had stands at large festivals, such as Children's Day, where they introduce young people to topics like robotics and Computer-aided design.
 * The association's headquarters, c-base station, is also used by other initiatives and groups in and around Berlin as an event location or as function rooms, for example the wireless community network freifunk.net, the Chaos Computer Club and the Berlin Wikipedia group. Any group that identifies themselves with the purpose of the c-base are also welcome to use the premises for meetings and events. Wireless LAN is available for all guests.

In short: it's a great place to work, to party, and to geek out.

The c-base is located at ''Rungestr. 20 (Google Maps; OSM) in Berlin Mitte'', at the very back of the block, towards the river. The next Subway (U-Bahn) and City-Rail (S-Bahn) station is Jannowitzbrücke. See the BVG website for transportation: http://www.bvg.de/ (click "English" at the top for english version).

Getting there

 * See Chapters meeting 2009/Practical information for information on public transport, etc
 * Overview map on OSM or google maps

Travel possibilities
There is a free lift/ride switchboard service available. Though the service (and the number/email of the driver) is free, the lift is usually not.

Wanted

 * Elvis & me from Munich... anyone from Switzerland or Austria, maybe? HardDisk 15:57, 25 January 2009 (UTC)
 * Catrope from Harlingen, NL; prepared to travel pretty much any place in NL that has a train station --Catrope 14:22, 26 January 2009 (UTC)
 * going with Siebrand Bovelett
 * I'd come if someone picked me up from Dresden. :-) -- leon

Offers

 * I may be able to accommodate two people from my home in Utrecht *in case I go*. Not for the faint of heart, as I'll drive as fast as the car will go where allowed. siebrand 14:06, 26 January 2009 (UTC)
 * Car full (GerardM, Roan) siebrand 19:07, 3 February 2009 (UTC)


 * I will come from Zaandam. Catrope already joined, still 1-2 seats free going early morning on friday. --Bovelett 09:53, 9 March 2009 (UTC)

Apartmenthaus am Potsdamer Platz
This is the default location. We recommend it for anyone who wants affordable accommodation and contact to other Wikimedians. We have reserved a bunch of rooms there for Developers as well as people comming for the board and chapter meetings. Some details:


 * 60 EUR for 3 nights (arrive Thursday, depart Sunnday)
 * Multi-bed rooms, bath en-suit (slides)
 * bring your own towels!
 * Location: Schöneberger Ufer 75-77, close to Potsdamer Platz and the Zoo
 * U-bahn (underground): "Mendelssohn-Bartholdy-Platz", lines U2
 * bus station: "Gedenkstätte Deutscher Widerstand", lines M29
 * 25 minutes ride from the c-base (take bus M29 to Moritzplatz, change to U8 to Jannowitzbrücke)
 * place to park: existent, but can't be reserved - ask at reception, costs: 5€/day
 * Home page
 * Checkin from 2pm
 * Checkout until 11am
 * Breakfast 7:30 - 9:00 (included)

A&O Mitte Ostbahnhof
A&O Mitte Ostbahnhof is a quite affordable hostel (3 nights in a 4-bed dorm for &euro;48 total, bed linen available for &euro;3) just one block away from the c-base.

Pegasus Hostel
Pegasus Hostel is another affordable hostel (3 nights in a 8- to 10-bed dorm for &euro;39 total, bed linen included) located near the Ostbahnhof station, a 20-minute walk from the c-base.

More

 * http://wikitravel.org/en/Berlin/Mitte Information about Berlin Mitte at Wikitravel, including accomodation (english)
 * http://wikitravel.org/de/Berlin/Mitte Information about Berlin Mitte at Wikitravel, including accomodation (german)
 * http://www.couchsurfing.com/ Couch Surfing (search form)
 * hostelbookers.com page for Berlin
 * hostels.com search for Berlin
 * http://www.hotel.de/ Hotel search & reservation (german)
 * http://www.hrs.com/ Hotel search & reservation (multilingual)
 * See also Chapters meeting 2009/Pre- and post-meeting accommodation - maybe a chapters person can help you out.

Visa
If you need a visa to visit Germany, it may be helpful to you to have a letter of invitation. Wikimedia Germany is happy to issue such letters on request, please contact the organizers.

Here's a list that tells you if you need a visa and an overview of the rules for visa to enter Germany.

Links
Calendar Entry on the Wiki Matrix