Péter Gervai
Encyclopedia
Péter Gervai is a Hungarian IT development engineer, the founder of the Hungarian Wikipedia
and the chair of Wikimedia Hungary. He was one of the pioneers of Internet culture in Hungary, as operator of the LifeForce BBS and the author of a snarky webpage about chain emails which was widely used to educate senders of such mail.
and German
.
in 1990. Than he studied at Kandó Kálmán Műszaki Főiskola
in Budapest
. He worked at FidoNet as a moderator, and he was the maintainer of the LifeForce BBS, which was among the pioneers in Hungary. The starter of the Mozilla Open Directory's Hungarian part,He participated in several open source projects. He was elected as president of the newly formed "Hungarian Wikimedia Association" on the 27th of September in 2008. He has a diverse interest mainly focused on technical areas, computer
s, mostly internet access and service providing, security
, network
design and programming, but he also likes reading and writing literature.
Hungarian Wikipedia
The Hungarian Wikipedia is the Hungarian/Magyar version of Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Started on July 8, 2003, this version reached the 200,000 article milestone in September 2011.-History:...
and the chair of Wikimedia Hungary. He was one of the pioneers of Internet culture in Hungary, as operator of the LifeForce BBS and the author of a snarky webpage about chain emails which was widely used to educate senders of such mail.
Personal life
Péter Gervai is married and has two children. Besides his native Hungarian, he speaks fluently in EnglishEnglish language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
and German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
.
Career
He graduated from Fazekas Mihály GimnáziumFazekas Mihály Gimnázium (Debrecen)
Fazekas Mihály Gimnázium is a high school in Debrecen, Hungary....
in 1990. Than he studied at Kandó Kálmán Műszaki Főiskola
Óbuda University
The Óbuda University named after Óbuda, a part of Budapest, is a technical university in Budapest, Hungary. It was originally founded in 2000 as Technical Institute of Budapest with the merging of 3 polytechnical institutes...
in Budapest
Budapest
Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
. He worked at FidoNet as a moderator, and he was the maintainer of the LifeForce BBS, which was among the pioneers in Hungary. The starter of the Mozilla Open Directory's Hungarian part,He participated in several open source projects. He was elected as president of the newly formed "Hungarian Wikimedia Association" on the 27th of September in 2008. He has a diverse interest mainly focused on technical areas, computer
Computer
A computer is a programmable machine designed to sequentially and automatically carry out a sequence of arithmetic or logical operations. The particular sequence of operations can be changed readily, allowing the computer to solve more than one kind of problem...
s, mostly internet access and service providing, security
Computer security
Computer security is a branch of computer technology known as information security as applied to computers and networks. The objective of computer security includes protection of information and property from theft, corruption, or natural disaster, while allowing the information and property to...
, network
Computer network
A computer network, often simply referred to as a network, is a collection of hardware components and computers interconnected by communication channels that allow sharing of resources and information....
design and programming, but he also likes reading and writing literature.
Milestones
- 1984–1999, BBS sysop, FidoNet node (and OtherNets nodes), moderator
- 1993–1994, KKVMF, software engineer
- 1994–1997, Budapest Bank, software engineer
- 1994–1997, ExaBit Bt., Executive Director
- 1996– ObjectREXX course, (OS/2)
- 1997–2005, Cory-Net Kft., Technical Director
- 2004–2008, Council of Hungarian Internet Providers - a Member of the Presidency
- 2008– President of the Hungarian chapter of Wikimedia Foundation (Wikimédia Magyarország Egyesület)
Conferences
- Hungarian Inventors' Day, BudapestBudapestBudapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
, 2011, June 16. lecturer, - Open Government Data Workshop, BudapestBudapestBudapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
, 2011. May 20. (Friday, May 20, 2011 from 10:00 AM - 7:00 PM (GMT+0100)) - "Ten years of Wikipedia" conference, 2011, January 15, Buda CastleBuda CastleBuda Castle is the historical castle and palace complex of the Hungarian kings in Budapest, first completed in 1265. In the past, it was also called Royal Palace and Royal Castle ....
, National Széchényi Library
Interviews
- Ígéretes magyar internetes lexikon, 2004. July 13.,
- Lelkesít a tudás átadása (A 168 óra interjúja Gervai Péterrel), 2005. December 15.,
- Eltűnik-e a könyv?, 2008. October 25., ITB-online,
- A komolyság világjátéka, Népszabadság, 2008. November 15.,
- Sokak szerint az is nevetséges, hogy van szócikk a sámánokról, 2010. December 20.,
- Az Omegával kezdődött a magyar Wikipédia, 2011. January 24., IT Cafe,
- Modernkori kódexmásoló, 2011. February 1., ITB-online,
- Encyclopedia on the Net: The Wikipedia Story, 2011. March 13., 168 Óra Online,
Publications
- The Wikipedia, from idea to fame, Wikipédia, az ötlettől a hírnévig. 2006. May 29.
Awards
- eFestival 2009 - Lifetime Achievement Award of the Hungarian Association of Content Industry for the establishment of the Hungarian-language Wikipedia.