A Wikipedia by and for Anarchists

Infoshop.org is pleased to announce a series of new initiatives under the OpenWiki project. OpenWiki is an open and collaborative endeavor which works off of the principles of the free software movement and employs the participatory wiki software. We're very hopeful of the way that this project can help us document our resistance, network and inform ourselves in ways which were recently much more difficult for many activists.

As of July 15, 2006, the OpenWiki already features over 1295 full content pages with over a thousand more stub and talk pages. The site has been viewed 440429 times and is quickly gaining more exposure. The wiki has already been a valuable resource to anarchists. Some of the most recent examples are the May Day pages which helped people plug into actions beforehand and documented the widespread resistance afterwards. The ability for many different people to quickly update pages makes this project one which can be a very accurate and living document that keeps up with the everchanging resistance movements around the globe.

Another exciting element of this project is the accesibility it offers anarchists and anti-authoritarians who have little or no web design experience. The wiki software is very straightforward, making the creation and editing of pages easy to learn for newcomers. It also helps decentralize the update process of Infoshop. Now instead of relying on a few HTML-savvy webmasters, activists from all over the world can instantly contribute to the website. By making Infoshop more participatory, the website can better reflect the values of anarchism which it promotes.

There are dozens of features and projects already going on within OpenWiki. Some of the most popular so far are the Anarchohood pages which have contact info for various cities and regions with active anarchist communities. Others include an Anarchist Encyclopedia, Anti-War and Peace Resource page, Prison Abolition Page, Infoshop Translations Project, and an Independent Media Guide. Of course, if these and the others don't spark your interest you can always create your own.

The wiki is very interested in adding to the now 343 registered users and helping this effort continue to grow. We welcome people's participation on whatever level is possible. For those who are interested in contributing to the effort on a semi-regular basis a Steering Committee has been formed to simply help with outreach, help link and organize sites, collaborate on specific projects and network with similar efforts. If you are interested in helping on this level you can go to infoshop.org/scripts/feedback.php3

Other simple ways you can help are:

* create a page or improve an existing one
* link us to your website
* promote the site on the web in blogs, listserves, newswires and other mediums
* print off flyers found at infoshop.org/wiki and distribute them (esp. infoshops and other radical spaces, when you table events, at your school or workplace)
* word of mouth

New Pages of Note
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Anarchist Neighborhood : Winnipeg
www.infoshop.org/wiki/index.php/Anarchist_Neighborhood:Winnipeg

Doohickey Project
www.infoshop.org/wiki/index.php/Doohickey_Project

World Guide : Lebanon
www.infoshop.org/wiki/index.php/Lebanon

Philadelphia Food Not Bombs
www.infoshop.org/wiki/index.php/Philadelphia_Food_Not_Bombs

Overview of Contemporary Anarchism in the United States
www.infoshop.org/wiki/index.php/Overview_of_Contemporary_Anarchism_in_the_United_States

Counter-recruitment
www.infoshop.org/wiki/index.php/Counter-recruitment

N30 (1999)
www.infoshop.org/wiki/index.php/N30

List of Anti-Globalization Mobilizations
www.infoshop.org/wiki/index.php/List_of_Anti-Globalization_Mobilizations

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OpenWiki
infoshop.org/wiki

www.infoshop.org/wiki/index.php/Main_Page

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