Potsdam 2017

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Goal

Four full days of hacking Aug 14, 15, 16, 17 in Potsdam, NY, right after Wikimania 2017, towards the "offlining" aims outlined below! This will be similar to http://wiki.kiwix.org/wiki/Hackathon_Wikimania_2016 in Esino Lario, Italy in June 2016, but with more globe-trotting field implementers represented (Internet-in-a-Box and similar).

We ask that everyone spend all 5 nights in Potsdam, NY, immediately following Wikimania 2017 in Montreal (Wikimania is Aug 9-13 2017), so that each and all of our 4 hack days and evening hospitality plans are relaxed & productive! In short: arrive in Potsdam, NY late Sunday Aug 13, and leave Potsdam, NY (2.5+ hour drive to the airport) on the morning of Friday Aug 18.

Your departing flight should leave from Montreal's airport on Friday Aug 18, 2017, starting about midday. Flights departing early morning will NOT be possible, as the drive from Potsdam to Montreal's airport is a full 2 hours, with delays very while entering Canada by road!

Please contact holt @ laptop.org immediately if are considering contributing & partaking, joining the Kiwix and Internet-in-a-Box team during these 4 intense+productive days/nights!

Transportation

Most all of us will drive from Montreal, Quebec, Canada to Potsdam, NY immediately after dinner on Sunday Aug 13, 2017, the moment Wikimania ends:

ARRIVAL: Vehicles will leave Montreal early evening Sunday Aug 13, 2017. Montreal airport (YUL) pickups might also be possible, as it's along the route to Potsdam, NY.

DEPARTURE: Vehicle(s) will arrive Montreal's airport (YUL) around mid-morning Friday Aug 18, 2017. Airport's full name is "Montréal–Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport".

WARNING: There is NO public transportation between Montreal and Potsdam, so you will likely need to rent a car at great expense over 5 days if you do not register early! Hence direct transportation has been arranged to and from Montreal (YUL) for those who register early. So far we have vehicles and drivers arranged for about 10-to-12 people, make this 2.5+ hour road trip and border crossing between Montreal and Potsdam very easy, but beware these vehicles WILL fill up :)

Please remember that a passport and US and Canadian visa are likely both required at the Canada/USA land crossing, particularly for those ineligible for the US Visa Waiver Program. To be safe, we will arrange formal letters of invitation to all non-US citizens, from SUNY Potsdam (University) to avoid possible border crossing nightmares. Well in advance: Martin Walker may need your passport number, its expiry date and your date-of-birth here — so please have these handy, given that border protocols have changed dramatically in 2017.

People

Kiwix
  • Emmanuel (CH)
  • Chris (US)
  • Isaac (UK)
  • Matthieu (FR)
  • Guillaume (FR)
WP1.0
  • Martin Walker
Internet-in-a-Box
  • Adam Holt
  • Tim Moody
  • <WMF tools guy / Wiki Data person from India?>
  • George Hunt?
  • Anish Mangal from India?
  • Mark Roden?
  • Reno McKenzie?
  • Josh Dennis??
  • C. Scott Ananian?
  • SJ Klein?
  • <Jonathan Field from RACHEL?>
  • <hacker from NetFreedom Pioneers?>
Wikimed
  • Doc James

<email holt @ laptop.org if you'd like to join, Thanks!>

Facilities & Accommodations

SUNY Potsdam (university) conference facility, nearby riverside pub/restaurant, and backyard BBQ thanks to Martin's church!

Contact Adam (holt @ laptop.org) to arrange hotel or hosting with friends. Martin Walker is greatly assisting to make this all possible.

Agenda

Please join our 11AM NYC Time voice calls on the 1st and 3rd Saturday of each month (contact: holt @ laptop.org) if you can help refine the arc of achievable opportunities in 2017, possibly including:

  • kiwix-serve on ARM?
  • mwoffliner: specific enhancements? Include CScott's node-libzim for speed etc?
  • searching across ZIMs? ("imminent: approx April 2017")
  • unified catalog ("imminent: incl OPDS integration approx May 2017") for IdeasCube catalog of content (even if their catalog also indexes other things)
    • basis for Internet-in-a-Box rating/commenting of {Content Packs, ZIMs}. While ensuring http://download.kiwix.org/library/library.xml is offered long-term for both kinds of ZIMs (legacy ZIMs, and ZIMs that include the index within the file)
    • Internet-in-a-Box integration of ZIMs that include index (also support legacy ZIMs?)
  • WikiMed app (very high priority, many of us polishing w/ Doc James Heilman)
  • Mark Roden (with Reno McKenzie) ask about:
    • Monthly publication of Wikipedia data aggregation to generate stats, to generate offline connections/collections (stale since June 2016)
    • FTP server (wp1.kiwix.org) not working: e.g. you can log in but can't do anything else
  • ZimIT improvements? (very challenging, might require more Python expertise)
  • https://github.com/kiwix/zimfarm and similar Home Server peer community curation action, driven by Internet-in-a-Box regional global leaders
  • Rapid-Deploy Containerization norms & best practices, among our broadening global community

Achievements / Impact

Costs

This event is being organized entirely by volunteers, who began investing heavily in Potsdam, NY starting in February 2017.

However there will be some small costs for transportation, food and accommodations.

Please contact holt @ laptop.org for details, Thanks!

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