Meta:Historical/Community

These are pages of good humor and about the community, preserved in the collection of Historical Wikipedia pages.

The edit histories for the original meta: pages (all moved at least once since their original creation in that early-WP era) can be found on the local Talk page.

In its first day of existence, because the nearest thing to hand (for Jimbo Wales) that was suitable for a logo was an American flag, indeed Wikipedia had the American flag, OldGlory, for a logo.

ScottMoonen sensibly suggested:

I'd recommend you change the American flag logo. Exremely ethno-centric et. al. I think a globe logo would be much more fitting, if you want to keep with that metaphor. Or perhaps a book.

Then others responded...

Or a quill and inkwell. -- SunirShah

It's a very temporary thing, the nearest thing Jimbo had to hand. Definitely won't be the Wikipedia logo--not that I agree with you that the U.S. flag is "ethnocentric" (which seems very strange to say to me, given that the U.S. is, after all, the biggest ethnic melting pot in the world). -- Larry Sanger

A truly ethnically aware person would be anathema to an ethnic melting pot. The more cultures involved, the stronger your organization because there is more information available to bring to the table. Any country that has a policy or culture of assimilating immigrants will have a difficult time adapting to the future, especially given free trade, globalization and the Internet. -- SunirShah

I suppose it would be better to be like YugoSlavia, then? Or to treat foreign workers the way some Germans treat their GastArbeiteren? Perhaps you do not understand the concept of an ethnic MeltingPot; have you been to the United States? Have you met the sons and granddaughters of immigrants here, and how they both preserve their ethnic heritage while freely intermingling with those who have a quite distinct ethnic heritage? For generations, Americans have been saying that one of the things that makes the country great is precisely that we have mixed together so many different cultures. I think some of us in the United States understand rather better what you're trying to say than you do yourself. -- Larry Sanger, who plays IrishFiddle even though he's not Irish

I grew up in Deep River, Ontario, Canada. Deep River has the largest number of PhD's per capita in Canada, so it's diverse (as its population comes from far and wide); but the surrounding Renfrew County is frighteningly homogeneous. Now I live in Ottawa, Ontario and I work in the high tech sector. I would guess that the high tech sector is over one quarter recently landed immigrants.

I think the phrase that sums up my best experiences so far: "We don't melt, we mingle." Melting and mixing has that unfortunate connotation of becoming homogeneous, like two metals melting and mixing together to form an alloy--a homogeneous (in every sense of the word) mixture/solution. Homogeneity is bad (or so I posit.) And don't forget the melting pot is the metaphor used by immigration theorists who believed in assimilation policies.

I haven't travelled extensively in the States. But I don't think it's all that different from Canada. Canada has until quite recently not done very well to accept foreigners into its society. Even now, it has problems. One needs only to wander into Renfrew County to see what I mean. I find my current high tech environment to be better at adapting; partly out of necessity, partly out of education.

Taking an extreme example like Yugoslavia is a fallacy for two reasons. One: extreme boundary cases aren't interesting compared to the average case in social phenomena; two: it isn't a paradigm case. Yugoslavia has been "mixed" as such for hundreds of years. The conflict there is centuries old, involving particular details not part of the general case. In that case, a religious conflict that is really a resource (geographic) conflict of two nations combatting. Not the same as a single nation building from diverse individuals. -- SunirShah

P.S. I like the new logo.

Me too, it's great!

[On Saturday, Dec 1, 2001, Larry Sanger (Wikipedia's former chief) got married. This is a wedding card that was put together by an assortment of Wikipedians.]

Larry - let me be the first to say a hearty congratulations, and that I wish you both all the best. You're not really taking out much time for a honeymoon, though dude! C'mon, the 'pedia's not THAT important :) - Cheers ManningBartlett

Thanks, I appreciate it! Well, we'll be spending two weeks in Colorado (where we're moving), though I'll be working from there, and also four more days in Boston at the end of December to attend a friend's wedding. So, we'll have plenty of private revelry, rest assured. :-) --LMS

Best of luck, Larry and Spouse-of-Larry. --MichaelTinkler

Congratulations to both of you! I hope Mrs. Rita Sanger (excuse me if you are not changing your last name) will be able to wrestle some time off the -pedia proyects :) Have a very happy and long life together.

Best wishes --AstroNomer

Very best to you and your wife, Larry. The Colorado article is a mess, so it's up to you to clean it up when you get a chance. :) --Stephen Gilbert

A toast to you and your bride, Larry. May you have a long and happy life together. --Robert Merkel

Congratulations to you both, and the best of luck (and pigheaded perseverance when the luck isn't running)! J Hofmann Kemp

Larry, I found this Irish wedding blessing at [1]:

May God be with you and bless you

May you see your children's children

May you be poor in misfortune, rich in blessings

May you know nothing but happiness

From your wedding day forward.

<>< Tim

Many congratulations to you and your bride-to-be, Larry. May you both have much luck, love and happiness. sjc

All the best to both of you, and may you live happily ever after :) --Magnus Manske

Congratulations. --TheCunctator

Congrats, Larry! For me getting married was the most expensi...sorry, the best thing I ever did! :) Cheers, Verloren

Gee, thanks to you all. Rita and I are really delighted that you did this! :-) --LMS

Oh good. I thought you might yell at us for posting meta-discussion. --Stephen Gilbert

Yeah, hey, what's up with that?! :-) --LMS

Congratulations Larry and Rita on about to be getting married. Hope you have fun :) -- Simon J Kissane

Congratulations and best wishes. --Uriyan

Congratulations and best wishes. --Kpjas

Have a long and happy marriage Larry, congratulations. -- sodium

God bless! -- Asa Winstanley

Congratulations. --Koyaanis Qatsi

Congratulations, and my best wishes for the future --The Anome

Congratulations, and best wishes -- Malcolm Farmer

Hi Larry, you know my position on the matter... :-) I hope you two have fun. --AxelBoldt

By seed and root, by bud and stem, by leaf and flower and fruit, by life and love I take you to my hand and heart at the rising of the sun and the setting of the stars.

Ah, the happy memories I have of my own handfasting! Your wedding is something you will never, ever forget. It's a moment when feel like you're stepping outside of time. I wish you both a happy life together! --Dmerrill

May your vows be lasting 'till eternity. God bless---TK

Congrats, Larry! -- Seb

All the best! -- WojPob

Feeling creative: Congratulations and best wishes -- P0ppe

Many congratulations unto you. I wholeheartedly second the wishes in all the above posts. --KamikazeArchon

As one would exclaim in the 'net way before WWW reared its ugly head :-)
--------=========<<<<<<<CONGRATZZZZZ>>>>>>========--------

--Anders Törlind

happyhappyjoyjoy! :) -- user:dreamyshade

My heartiest congratulations -- Vignaux

Congratulations to your and your bride! -- Anaka

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