The noise was rising in the main auditorium of Civic Hall near Union Square, Manhattan, as old friends and complete strangers greeted each other. I took a seat near the front. The crowd was eclectic: hipster-geeks with purple or green hair, young hackers in hoodies, boomer techies in tight T-shirts. More of them were male than female, but not by much. Everyone was excited, friendly and just a little awkward. It was like one part Star Trek convention, one part alternative music concert.
This was WikiCon North America, an annual gathering of Wikipedians, as those who contribute to the online encyclopedia are known, staged here last October to mark New York City’s 400th anniversary. Wikipedia’s own major milestone was round the corner: on January 15 2026, the website would turn 25.
Maryana Iskander, CEO of Wikimedia Foundation, the non-profit that runs Wikipedia, took to the stage. Dressed in a red trouser suit and white trainers, Iskander was two minutes into her speech when a tall young man draped in a multicoloured flag approached her on stage. He was holding something aloft, pointed at the ceiling.