Wikipedia is a site that we all often turn to for credible information online. However, very few know about the people who add and update content. Interestingly, Bangalore has an active group of people who contribute to the site diligently.

The city has an active group of Wikipedians who meet every month at a WikiMeetup. At least 20 Wikipedians, mostly techies and young professionals, met on Sunday to discuss various issues like how to add content, write in Indian languages, and navigate through the site to source content.

Ravi Rustam, who works in Karnataka Bank who maintains the site, has written 24,000 edits in the past three-and-a-half years. He writes mainly on history and Tamil Nadu politics.  Ramesh NG is another Wikipedian who has been contributing to the Malayalam pages since 2006.

WikiMeetups happen all over the world. At these meetings, Wikipedians meet face-to-face, and believe that such meetings help bring a sense of community among them.

Wikipedia was founded in 2001 and WikiMeetups started as early as 2003.

The first WikiMeetup in India was held in Bangalore in 2006, where Jimmy Wales, (‘Jimbo’) had attended. Apart from Bangalore, WikiMeetups have started in cities like Pune, Chennai and Thrissur.