How to Organize a One-page Wikipédia Editathon ?

Our library hosted an editathon workshop to create and develop the Wikipédia page Jeu de rôle sur table au Québec (tabletop role-playing games in Quebec). Here is my report of the event.

Preparation

1. Use this dashboard to record the contributions and avoid IP address ban. Example.
2. If the page doesn't exist yet :
1. Write a short paragraph to introduce the page, without source (keep it for the demo in the workshop).
2. Create all the pertinent sections and sub-sections.
3. In the source code of the page.
1. At the beginning, add the banner
   

   {{under construction |placedby=username|2018-10-24}}

2. At the end of the page, add categories and portals.
3. In Discussion, explain the page is part of a editathon workshop. Example.
3. Prepare sources (and sourcerers!).
1. URL in a shared folder.
2. PDF in a shared folder.
3. Encylopedias & dictionaries.
4. Books.
5. (one or more librarians to help find and assess sources).

Editathon workshop

1. Receive your guests. Ask them to
1. Connect with their Wikipédia account
2. Subscribe the Dashboard with an URL placed in a txt file in a shared folder
2. Demonstration
1. Short introduction (max. 5-10 min.) on : how to write, how to cite and how to link pages.
2. How to cite: Take a source you prepared for the short introduction paragraph. Show how to make an automatic citation + modify to improve it. Cancel. Then show how to make a manual citation. Publish with documenting what was done, insisting it is important.
3. You are the editor
1. Ask who wants to edit what.
2. Ask them to click on Modify for the selected section, not for the whole page (because everybody is on it).
3. Ask them to compose their text in the notepad software, then copy-paste it when finished to reduce the time the page is on hold.
4. Go!

Final notes

• Everybody can come and go and leave.
• Some people will edit at the same time but remotely, they are mostly admins who supervise and verify what's going on.
• Thanks to the scanned archives of the BAnQ !
• Thanks to Catherine Bernier, Raymonde Champagne, Benjamin Constantineau et Mathieu Thomas for your help !
• After 2h of workshop, the page was born. It weighted 1800 words and 24 sources. The parents are expecting a Featured article ★ status within one year.

Exhibition Donjons & Données probantes in the Université de Montréal

From October 17 to 25, 2018, the Library of humanities and social sciences of Université de Montréal is hosting an exhibition named Donjons & Données probantes («Evidence-Based Dungeons») on the academic research and tabletop role-playing games.
Designed by Sébastien Savard and me, this exhibition shows :

• how the scientific studies answered the moral panic of the 80s ?
• how the academic and para-academic researches reattributed the original authorship to the creation of tabletop roleplaying games ?
• how and why the design of D&D evolved through the decades ?
• what designed the Québec and Canadian publishers and authors ?
• how the innovations in game design evolved from 1974 to 2018 ?

Overview

Different editions of D&D (from Dave Arneson basement in 1971 to the 5th ed.)

Scientific peer-reviewed answers to the moral panics of the 80s

do-it-yourself culture in the design of TRPG

Québec authors and publishers

Walkthrough map by Jason Bradley Thompson (@mockman) : OSR, dungeon crawl & humor in The Tomb of Horrors
(a link with a lot of maps)

Nouvelle-France map of the XVIIe by Dyson Logos for the Scenario from Ontario (Ennie award 2018)

Map homemade with pencil and Photoshop, illustrating how TRPG can inspire a strong engagement in self-learning (author: Zulaan)

Hidden level : « On the shoulders of cloud giants » or a Timeline of innovations in TRPG designs from 1974 à 2018