A Wikipedia Conference Took a Dark Turn. Unfortunately, It's Not a Total Surprise.

"When a man suddenly stormed the stage during the keynote speech at last weekend's Wikipedia conference in New York, the audience of well over 100 volunteer Wikipedia editors was confused. Some thought the man was protesting the website's nonprofit parent organization because the disruption came in the middle of remarks by Wikimedia Foundation CEO Maryana Iskander. Others wondered if this might be a bizarre but potentially harmless display of performance art."

"The armed man wore a sign around his neck that read "Anti-Contact Non-Offending Pedophile" and had a pink-yellow-and-white-striped flag draped over his shoulders that is used by individuals who call themselves "minor-attracted persons." Speaking to the attendees, he said he intended to end his life to protest what he called Wikipedia's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy, referring to the site's rule that editors who "identify themselves as pedophiles, will be blocked and banned indefinitely.""

"The man waved the gun-at his head, at the ceiling-until a man sporting a blue "Wikipedia Editor" baseball cap and a prominent beard wrapped him in a bear hug from behind. A second volunteer rushed the stage, grabbing the man's arm and prying the weapon from his fingers. A senior law enforcement official later confirmed that the gun was loaded."

At a Wikipedia conference in New York, a man stormed the stage during the Wikimedia Foundation CEO Maryana Iskander's keynote, confusing an audience of over 100 volunteer editors. The man carried a loaded gun, wore a sign reading "Anti-Contact Non-Offending Pedophile," and draped a pink-yellow-and-white-striped flag used by people identifying as minor-attracted persons. He said he intended to end his life to protest Wikipedia's rule that editors who identify as pedophiles will be blocked and banned. Two volunteers, Richard Knipel and Andrew Lih, subdued him—one wrapping him in a bear hug while another pried the weapon from his fingers—averting potential bloodshed.

Read at Slate Magazine