Talk:Wikimania 2008/Bids/Atlanta

Please feel free to any questions or comments about the bid. If you'd like to show your individual support for this bid, put this picture on your user page!

Global Learning Center

Tim Gargis, tim.gargis@dlpe.gatech.edu, is the Sales Manager-Global Learning Center — The preceding unsigned comment was added by 71.56.57.130 (talk) 03:34, 23 August 2007 (UTC)

Noted, and will do research on this venue. Thank you! Mike Halterman 03:40, 23 August 2007 (UTC)

Global Learning Center connected to the Georgia Tech Hotel and Conference Center-- Tim is the guy who sets up conferences, etc-- so he could provide info about price/booking/etc — The preceding unsigned comment was added by 71.56.57.130 (talk) 04:10, 23 August 2007 (UTC)

I've already discussed it with contacts Disavian and Niayre. It looks like a good place. We may use it as an option. They will contact more people (and no doubt Tim) tomorrow. Mike Halterman 04:31, 23 August 2007 (UTC)

Visas

See also:

• "Who from Canada, Mexico and Bermuda, Needs a Nonimmigrant Visa to Enter the United States Temporarily?"

--A. B. ^(talk) 13:32, 23 August 2007 (UTC)

LUG and OSSUG

Atlanta has several groups that have related missions. The Atlanta Linux Enthusiasts and OSS Atlanta are among the many. It probably would be a good idea to try to work with them. Similar groups in Taiwan were able to help with some pre-event coordination, as well as schedule events while we have a large group of people in town who share similar interests. --Cspurrier 17:18, 23 August 2007 (UTC)

GT Conference Services (Dorm Rooms)

I left word on Dan Dyksta's voicemail. He is out of the office most of this week and will hopefully return the call as soon as he can. Niayre 23:27, 23 August 2007 (UTC)

Carbon neutral?

Will the conference and the flights to it be carbon neutral? -- Jeandré, 2007-08-24t20:09z

Delta, Atlanta's primary airline, recently announced a program to allow passengers to simultaneously contribute to tree-planting for carbon offsets when purchasing their tickets. See: [1] [2] AUTiger 00:09, 25 August 2007 (UTC)

And note that since Atlanta is the headquarters for Delta, and a MAJOR hub, flights are cheap. Swatjester 14:39, 25 August 2007 (UTC)

It's also worth noting that Georgia Tech (the proposed host site) is one of the world's leading researchers in the development of renewable energy technologies and carbon-neutral biofuels as well as in carbon emissions mitigation through the development of more efficient technologies. LaMenta3 01:56, 27 August 2007 (UTC)

One of Tech's largest and most recent developments, the Klaus Advanced Computing Building, is LEED Silver Certified. Disavian 04:08, 27 August 2007 (UTC)

Driving distances

I was just looking at the driving time between Seattle and Atlanta. To do that in 1 day 15 hours one would have to average 69 m.p.h. non-stop. That's not even stopping to fill up with gas. I suppose someone could save time by wearing diapers. ;-) Perhaps if you speak with someone at AAA they could come up with more realistic figures. I've gone cross country in four days, and that's pushing it. Eclecticology 21:30, 27 August 2007 (UTC)

I only reported what MaqQuest gave us. At this point, contacting AAA about driving distances isn't the highest priority. Not that it won't get done, but it won't get done right now. Mike Halterman 01:38, 28 August 2007 (UTC)

Just because you asked, a realistic figure between Seattle and Atlanta is about 4 long days (10-12 hours) driving at or just above the posted speed limit. This includes stopping for food, gas, sleep, etc. This would probably be an accurate figure for anyone coming from the Pacific coast. This figure is based on a drive made from Snellville, GA (Atlanta suburbs) to Bremerton, WA. LaMenta3 14:52, 28 August 2007 (UTC)

Two drivers helps; My partner and I drove from Sacramento to Atlanta in 36 hours. We stopped for food, gas and one 3 hour nap break. I recommend one night at a hotel for such a trip though. --Daniel Mayer 02:06, 31 August 2007 (UTC)

Ideas, wifi, etc

Hey, I got Mike's email. I'm sort of retired from Wikipedia, but I'm glad to offer my assistance if needed. My office is in Bunger-Henry (the building on the right of this old photo, with the student center on the left) and actually overlooks the student center. More importantly, I can get you contact with the people (actually, person) you need to talk to about wifi access. The wifi head honcho is a pretty cool guy and is well aware of what Wikipedia is about, so if I talk to him personally I bet he can work something out.

Here's an idea I'd like to throw out. There are tons of research groups here that do incredibly cool stuff, and if there was a desire to do so, I bet we could get tours of many of the labs and facilities arranged. Professors and operations are often more than happy to facilitate this. For example, in my field there's the MiRC, a large clean room facility which we could probably get tours of (I'm on pretty good terms with some of the head MiRC people, so I could ask them). By 2008, the Nanotech building may be open, which will be the largest clean room facility in the Southeast. Ajeet Rohatgi's group is one of the world leaders in photovoltaics (they've put out many of the world's most efficient PV cells). My contacts are mostly in the ECE and Physics areas, but we could probably find other departmental contacts or more general contacts if we wanted to pursue arranged tours of research in various fields.

It might bear mentioning (the page doesn't quite do so yet) that you can get directly from Hartsfield-Jackson to Georgia Tech using public transportation. Take MARTA to Midtown station, catch the Tech Trolley, get off at Ferst and Atlantic, walk down the hill along Atlantic, pass Bunger-Henry, and you're looking at the Student Center. If this ended up happening, we'd probably want to contact the GATech transportation department as a courtesy to make sure they're okay with us flooding that bus route with people. (personally I walk this route every day without using the trolley, but it's admittedly a bit of a hike)

Oh, and as another matter of interest/vanity, en:Oakland Cemetery (Atlanta, Georgia) is another possible tourist destination for history buffs (and I personally vouch for that article :). Margaret Mitchell Marsh, Bobby Jones, and a whole mess of other southern historical figures are interred there.

I'll watch this page for any replies or requests. Feel free to email me as well, since that's probably the best mode of communication with me (NOT my en.wiki talk page). -- mattb 15:00, 31 August 2007 (UTC)

Matt, there is so much to do in ATL, such as visiting the Carter Museum, touring of CNN, Coca-Cola, Zoo, The King Center, etc. Don't limit ATL to just one cemetery. :-) Also, one of the benefits of having WKM in ATL, is free publicity from CNN. (ding! ding! ding!) Miranda 01:33, 4 September 2007 (UTC)

?? Limit? I was just mentioning something that wasn't already listed on the page. -- mattb 02:18, 4 September 2007 (UTC)

Did not see that, sorry. Miranda 20:34, 4 September 2007 (UTC)

tourism

also 6 flags, highlands, little 5

That is very true. Thank you! Mike Halterman 08:12, 3 September 2007 (UTC)

Coke Sponsorship

If someone from the Wikimedia Foundation's press agency would contact Coca-Cola for sponsorship money and/or donation of food and Coke-related drinks, that would probably take care of the worries with food, wouldn't you think? See the PR link here (http://www.thecoca-colacompany.com/contactus/index.html). Miranda 01:21, 4 September 2007 (UTC)

The "press agency" would pretty much be one person, Sandy Ordonez, and if I'm not mistaken, it's the responsibility of the bid team to make that contact. At this point, a big company like Coke would probably not just throw out a promise without the guarantee that we'd actually get it. Mike Halterman 09:41, 4 September 2007 (UTC)

Okay. Miranda 20:34, 4 September 2007 (UTC)

Also, Sandy's assisted by the WMF Communications Committee, however most of the committee is a neutral board member, a neutral judge, or a competing bidder. -- Zanimum 14:50, 5 September 2007 (UTC)

Right. So I took the initiative of contacting Coke myself. Mike Halterman 14:56, 5 September 2007 (UTC)

Air fares

I noticed the airfares are rather high from asia and Africa, there is an alternative, Emirates Airlines offer really good fares through Dubai from most african and asian destination prices range from $1100 to $1800 65.7.148.124 01:54, 4 September 2007 (UTC)

That's a very good suggestion! Travelocity should only be used as an estimate, and people are encouraged to look for their own cheapest fare. Mike Halterman 09:41, 4 September 2007 (UTC)

Not that I want to advertise any particular travel service, but airninja.com is the best (IMHO) for finding low fares. In fact, with regard to fares from Asia, there's a non-stop(!!) flight from Singapore to Atlanta for around US$1200. I'm guessing that's about as good as it gets for such things. --68.98.134.60 12:52, 4 September 2007 (UTC)

Is that price from Singapore to Atlanta a round trip price? Mike Halterman 20:27, 4 September 2007 (UTC)

There is no such thing as a non-stop flight from Singapore to Atlanta, you'll have to change somewhere along the way. en:User:Jpatokal 202.156.10.12 09:37, 23 September 2007 (UTC) (in sunny Singapore)

The above user is correct. My suggestion would be to make a reservation with your local airline provider (en:Singapore Airlines, possibly), from Singapore to LAX. Then make a reservation with a separate air carrier for your flight into ATL. I have done some research and Delta has direct/non-stop flights to ATL from LAX. Miranda 22:39, 23 September 2007 (UTC)

Logo

I see that both the Atlanta and Toronto bids share the same conference logo. Is this an official logo? Greenman 13:19, 10 September 2007 (UTC)

What, the W and M for Wikimania? Yes, it is. Mike Halterman 14:51, 10 September 2007 (UTC)

Carter Center

Disclosure note: My parents are on the Board of Councilors [3].

All my experiences with the Carter Center in view of attending their organized events have been uniformly positive. I've attended several of their Winter Retreats in which several hundred Center supporters, as well as underprivileged youths sponsored by the center, travel to Colorado for the annual auction and center report/presentation. Every single time they went smoothly, and were immensely enjoyable. The annual meetings at the Center were well organized as well. The Carter Center partnered with Delta to get better flights as well, and Coca-Cola for drinks. The Carter Center staff were smooth, professional, and diligent. The Carter Center grounds are beautiful; the Japanese gardens were unlike anything I've ever seen before, and that's coming from someone who grew up near the w:Morikami Museum. I may be a little biased, but I have to say that this is probably the best party venue, and the best sponsor opportunity that we can possibly get. Swatjester 22:23, 11 September 2007 (UTC)

My experience with Molly Howard was very professional and helpful and she was even a cheerleader to an extent after reading the bid. Out of all the people I have contacted throughout this bid process, Molly is the best one and I am more than happy to tell anyone that. Mike Halterman 23:08, 11 September 2007 (UTC)

Sponsorship from Chicken Palace (Chick-fil-A) and Bell South

• Chick-fil-A FAQ/Inquiries link
• "Community Involvement" (Bell South)

Miranda 04:14, 13 September 2007 (UTC)

en:List_of_major_companies_in_Atlanta <--- this also may be a good source for corporate sponsorship. Miranda 04:21, 13 September 2007 (UTC)

If you like to know, I am glad to share.

Hi, Wikimania 2008 bidders,

I was informed by an Alexandria bidder that it is necessary for bidders to take a look of the WM07 budget, for your better imagination and calculation. I would love to share these information with you, and I have already started to write a summary report in detail for better organization of Wikimania. (Though it is still in Chinese currently) As a member of the Wikimania 2008 bidding jury, I hope every bidding team are on the same ground. So, there's nothing I have already told to Alexandria.

The budget is in my Google docs and spreadsheets. I think it will be good that every bidding team could let one person to read the WM07 budget. However, we had signed some agreements with confidential obligations, so I hope that the person who I share the budget with could help me on this. Don't show it to people not related to your bidding. If it is not hard for you to follow, then please inform me the person's email. :)

Titan Deng | Theodoranian--theodoranian 17:23, 13 September 2007 (UTC) Wikimania 2007 Coordinator

Flight costs

To avoid another taipei-scam (flight costs underextimated by thousands of dollars, ask Theodoranian up there for details) I am going to check on Expedia all the flight costs indicated. But I am fair, so I am leaving you guys some time to "check for errors"...

And I am helping you too! Just to begin, I can say that flying roundtrip from Rome to Atlanta 3-10 aug 2008 will cost no less than 1176,90$ (American Airlines). And you do agree that 1176 =/= 797, dont'you?

Milan-atlanta: 1526 with KLM. Same as above.

Please check those prices and be sure they are ROUND TRIP, ALL INCLUDED (taxes, and extra fares). If I get to check them and find them wrong, that could be very unpleasant for your bid. --Jollyroger 10:31, 17 September 2007 (UTC)

Different websites are going to offer different prices. We used Travelocity, and used the vague timeframe of "July 2008," I believe we picked the second weekend in July, because we couldn't search further.

I take offense at "1176 doesn't equal 797." I am not stupid; please do not address me or other bids like we are. We're working very hard to provide accurate information to people, but at the same time, these prices are just starting points, and we even recommend each person to look for their own cheapest price. In the end, I am not anyone's travel agent, and it is not our job to find an exact flight for someone. We found prices, which do sound pretty good for Europe and have all the taxes included for a round-trip flight.

And really, a comment like this (If I get to check them and find them wrong, that could be very unpleasant for your bid.) sounds vaguely threatening. We have enough concerns and work to do in this final week without feeling like we have to second-guess ourselves when we are confident in what we put up already. So please alter your tone when talking to me and my bid members. Mike Halterman 12:15, 17 September 2007 (UTC)

Man, you have to thank me for this request. You are working very hard (as I did last year), and you don't want to be scammed by someone who lies in the air fares boosting incredibly low (but fake) prices.

Please note that I don't want the "exact flight", I want a *indicative and reliable price*, and that has to include return, taxes and surcharges.

Oh, one of your competitors "forgot" the taxes! Their prices was so low... and WMF was going to be fooled again. So as I said, you have to thank me, I am watching over your interests!

I am not threatening anyone, simply I think your "image" will be damaged if you are found cheating. You agree, don't you?

--Jollyroger 08:01, 18 September 2007 (UTC)

Dear sir, we are truly doing the best we can on this front, but you ought to realize that there is no such thing as a "reliable" airline price a year out. We're providing an estimation using a reasonable method, but we cannot do extensive research into average flight fares in a given season from every major city. I constantly watch air fares from Atlanta, and getting a good rate is a very hit-and-miss affair, much less predicting what the going rate should be a year in advance. In any case, if you see something specifically wrong, please let us know and we'll fix it. However, telling us that we, in effect, must to conduct a rigorous price study on air fares is neither helpful nor feasible. Implications of cheating are downright insulting and unnecessary. -- mattb 23:38, 21 September 2007 (UTC)

CCBottlers in Atlanta

Mike, I don't know if you know this, but "contact with your local bottler" means that the local bottler of Coca-Cola will be responsible for sponsorship. Local bottlers are responsible in dispersing Coke's products. Coke just provides the formula from the headquarters. Anyway, here is the contact info for the ATL bottler shown here. There may be more than one in ATL, though. Good luck! Miranda 07:47, 18 September 2007 (UTC)

Contacted the Atlanta Coca-Cola bottler in College Park. We may have to do our follow-up with them next week; will inform jury of the decision. Mike Halterman 09:34, 22 September 2007 (UTC)

Map

Hopefully, a person can contact Randy Nordin for release of the GT Map printable, in order to satisfy one of the requirements. List with the benefits of using the map and the revenue which is made from the Wikimania convention. Sorry if a person has mentioned the concept before. Miranda 08:23, 18 September 2007 (UTC)

If we can get this map, tag it and forward it to OTRS. Miranda 08:26, 18 September 2007 (UTC)

Contacted this morning. No response today. Mike Halterman 01:13, 19 September 2007 (UTC)

We talked to someone at ICPA today about permission to use/alter a map for the bid and we were directed to Space Planning, as they hold the rights to it as far as anyone knows. Someone from our team should be in contact with them soon about that. It shouldn't be a problem and is probably only a matter of getting explicit permission. LaMenta3 05:27, 19 September 2007 (UTC)

Atlanta, horribleness, and national embarrassment

Atlanta is one of the most awful and soulless cities in the United States and the world. Georgia, meanwhile, is the worst state in the South after Alabama (I speak as a native resident of Dixie), and its extraordinarily - and increasingly - conservative culture have helped make it into "a bastion of the Old South in the New South". Just as the 1996 Olympics quickly turned into a national embarrassment, a 2008 Wikimania event in Atlanta would be a black eye for the United States as a whole, and a wholly unsatisfying experience for attendees. Does anyone remember the 1996 Olympics as being well-staged? NO. Wikimania 2008 would be worse. Atlanta is NOT representative of the United States. If you wish to support Wikimania in the USA, wait until 2009, when a good candidate can be chosen instead. If you wish to support Wikimania in North America, support Toronto. The Atlanta nomination should be withdrawn, as Atlanta is perhaps the most embarrassing major metropolitan area in the first world. Check out the tourism section, for instance: "uhhhhh....Coke is here....I guess...uhhhhh....Margaret Mitchell wrote a bad book here....uhhhhhh...it has many of the basic amenities that every city has...uhhhhh" - and so on! Please, before all that is holy, do not host this in Atlanta. No event should ever be awarded to that city again. Wikimania should be hosted in a cultural and intellectual capital, not a city that is a net cultural and intellectual negative in its own nation. 65.190.89.154 20:58, 20 September 2007 (UTC)

You'll be pleased to know that nobody on the bid team helped plan the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. Our sincerest thanks for your wholly constructive criticism, though. We'll be sure to keep it in mind as we proceed. -- mattb 22:53, 20 September 2007 (UTC)

It's not too late to do the patriotic thing: withdraw and throw support to another city. Please, do not let Atlanta reflect the USA, or the South, for Wikimania attendees. 65.190.89.154 19:45, 21 September 2007 (UTC)

You've very clearly stated that you think Atlanta is a bad representation of the South. All the people behind this bid, whether it be bid team members, volunteers, independent helpers, and possible sponsors, all disagree with your assessment. Mike Halterman 21:54, 21 September 2007 (UTC)

Why? Nothing can be cited in Atlanta's favor. It has less going for it than any other city in America...almost as if it was intentionally chosen to embarrass our nation. Halterman...that sounds kind of...German, y'know? Anyone else thinking this guy might be some kind of agent provocateur? 65.190.89.154 22:56, 21 September 2007 (UTC)

Stop trolling. "OMG ATLANTA SUX" is not a cogent argument. -- mattb 23:30, 21 September 2007 (UTC)

"Duly noted." And on the Olympic note, Hillary Lipko's father actually worked security for an event at the 1996 Olympics, and she disagrees with you that it wasn't well-planned. Every city has its debacles during the Olympics, and Atlanta is no exception. However, I would not go so far to say it was a national embarrassment. Please take some sage Dixie wisdom your momma should have imparted on you. "If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all." Mike Halterman 23:35, 20 September 2007 (UTC)

I had a great time in the Atlanta Olympics. And every other time I've been to atlanta. Why can IP's edit meta?Swatjester 23:57, 20 September 2007 (UTC)

IPs can edit meta. ;-P One person's opinion shouldn't damper the hard work of many others. In the end the committee will make the final decision about the convention. Regardless, the host city in 2008 will have economic and media impact during the alloted time for the convention. Miranda 02:46, 21 September 2007 (UTC)

I'm not an IP; I am a human being. I have edited mainspace for several years under numerous names on numerous subjects. I am more of a wikignome than a troll. 65.190.89.154 19:45, 21 September 2007 (UTC)

Then why won't you sign your posts? Irregardless, we politely refuse to withdraw our bid. We all feel that your concerns are unfounded and unreasonable. -- mattb 22:00, 21 September 2007 (UTC)

I would keep my mouth shut if Atlanta had already been selected, but I'm pleading for a withdrawal of the bid or a last-second change of city. 65.190.89.154 19:45, 21 September 2007 (UTC)

It will not happen. For one, the bid team does not agree with you, and neither do the local, national and international contacts we have made. Mike Halterman 21:49, 21 September 2007 (UTC)

At long last, have you no sense of decency? 65.190.89.154 22:56, 21 September 2007 (UTC)

We have already said that we are not withdrawing the bid. Please stop whining about it. -- mattb 23:28, 21 September 2007 (UTC)

Guys and gals, work is needed to be done. All this is doing is feeding attention to the above user. We must go on to complete more important tasks. We are past the brink point for this bid. As they say, the show must go on. Miranda 23:52, 21 September 2007 (UTC)

Accommodation

Could you please be more precise as to what accommodation is exactly available? What kind of dorms? Are they air conditionned? How many beds per rooms? Doubles? Singles? Etc. This would do for an easier reading of the accommodation information. Thank you. notafish }<';> 14:42, 27 September 2007 (UTC)

I've moved your question to our Q&A section if you don't mind. :) Mike Halterman 06:20, 29 September 2007 (UTC)

Wikimania 2009?

Lots of work has been done and we had the second strongest vote getter from the 2008 jury. It sure would be a shame if all that momentum were lost instead of diverted into a 2009 or even 2010 bid. So, are people interested in moving this page to Wikimania 2009/Atlanta to start an unofficial bid? --Daniel Mayer 19:20, 14 October 2007 (UTC)

The problem is, as Mike has stated, that the thing with this bid is that it would have only worked in 2008. I suppose if someone wanted to start afresh they could, but considering Wikimania still has to cover Australia, South America and Antarctica, I wonder if it'd be worth it :P Majorly (talk) 19:39, 14 October 2007 (UTC)

Antarctica? Anyway, rotation is just one of many criteria. --Daniel Mayer

The United States needs to be represented by a less embarrassing city next time. Extremist George W. Bush country really isn't cutting it anymore. A state whose governor holds an official prayer rally for rain is not really fit for an event connected to the promotion and propagation of human knowledge. Of course, Georgia is still far less embarrassing to humanity as a whole than Egypt, so there's that in its favor. But really, the USA can be better represented...perhaps by a city in a state whose governor does not hold official prayer rallies for rain? 65.190.89.154 01:43, 12 December 2007 (UTC)

Although I predicted the failure of this bid and gave my reasons for protesting Atlanta as a representative of the United States, I have nothing personal against that city or its inhabitants. It's just that Georgia is increasingly an embarrassment to our troubled southern region as a whole. Praying for rain. Yes, praying for rain. In 2007. The governor is holding a prayer rally for rain. Reflect on that one...does Atlanta deserve to host anything aside from Southern Baptist and/or witch-doctor conventions? If a more substantial and less extremist state such as North Carolina - or even, perhaps, something outside of our Southland - had represented this fine nation, things might be different. Atlanta is heading toward the stone age, not the information age. There is no argument with that statement when the governor is holding prayer rallies for rain. 65.190.89.154 01:51, 12 December 2007 (UTC)

It has been posited that the above is not constructive criticism...but it is. As a Southerner and American, I would like to see Wikimania here. I don't feel that this can happen unless we bid with a better venue. As for Atlanta, why bid again? Why not just have the governor hold a prayer rally to pray for Wikimania to come there? What do you need a bid for? I strongly suggest that all involved shift their support to another city. I want Wikimania here, not in Egypt, and that's where we should start. If that's not constructive, what is? 65.190.89.154 21:13, 12 December 2007 (UTC)

Condolences, though, on the bid. 65.190.89.154 21:14, 12 December 2007 (UTC)