User:EvanProdromou

I'm Evan Prodromou, and I'm one of the two founders of Wikitravel. I'm a writer and programmer from San Francisco living in Montreal (ICBM: 45.52656, -73.58467).

My goal as a Wikivoyager is to channel other contributors' exuberance and knowledge to best meet our goals. With technology, community guidelines and policy, and day-to-day copyediting and re-structuring, I want to optimize the impact of Wikivoyagers' efforts, and shorten the distance between editors and readers.

I have a (WT-en) todo list and some (WT-en) tools. I also have a (WT-en) workspace where I test out new articles and ideas. On a personal note, I have a (WT-en) wishlist of places I'd like to visit, and a (WT-en) friend-of-a-friend listing page.

Probably the best way to reach me is through my talk page. Just edit the page and put in your message. I'm much more amenable to requests if you take the time to learn and use our local methods of communication.

I've volunteered as a docent for some destinations. Feel free to contact me by any of the above electronic methods (please don't phone!) if you have questions about one of those places.

I was born 14 October 1968 in Cincinnati, Ohio but moved to California at an early age. After graduating with a major in physics and a minor in English at the University of California at Berkeley in 1990, I spent a year writing software in Amsterdam before returning to San Francisco to join the nascent Internet boom. I did a stint working for Microsoft's Bay Area office, then I lept into the Web with both feet, working on dozens of Web sites and Web software packages between 1995 and 2001. I developed a passion for Open Source software and Open Content, grass-roots Internet culture, and SF's Burning Man-oriented techno-artistico-music scene. I was lucky enough to meet (WT-en) Maj during this time.

In 2001 I got a generous layoff package from RSA Security and took the opportunity to quit the expensive hurly-burly SF lifestyle. I piled my belongings into the back of my beloved 1972 Citroen DS and spent the next 6 months alone driving around Canada, the United States, and Mexico. I eventually settled in Montreal to write my first novel (still unfinished), then joined Maj in Geneva for a round-the-world trip including touring Southeast Asia and living in Lisbon for a season. We returned to Montreal in July 2003 for Maj to start graduate school at McGill University, and as a side-project started Wikivoyage. A year later, we were married on the platform of the Biosphère in Montreal. Today, we're still living in Montreal, parents of a beautiful 2-year-old girl named Amita June. I work on Wikivoyage full time doing development and system administration, and try to find time to write.

I work for or provide services to the Wikimedia Foundation, but this is my personal account. Edits, statements, or other contributions made from this account are my own, and may not reflect the views of the Foundation.