Thanks for the kind words. And the only thing that's stopping us from > having that many sites in the movement is Trademark Law / Branding . > The idea works and requires no resources, just a small campaign of > communication offering up the possibility. > > Not so much that; but protecting Wikimedia brandmark is *really* important because otherwise it will get misused.
I dislike the idea of making it ultra-accessible for basically anyone to stick "Part of the Wikimedia Movement" on their website - it serves little purpose (per se) and you are going to get the vast majority of people slapping it on as a neat badge (or to take advantage of the brand) without actually subscribing or forwarding our aims. Wikimedia has broad aims, but a reasonably narrow focus, and that makes the movement hard for some to digest. I don't think any direct affiliation should be as simple as making use of a badge - there is nothing wrong with being a little selective, and there are many benefits. The way that other bodies do this is to set up an alternate brand name, as you are suggesting, and this is the way we should go. The boy should have a snappy and clear brand name, with the same clear message. It initially should be formed within the WMF eco-system with a comittee drawn from the various aspects of the Foundation. There should be a lightweight way of signing up to the movement, with various levels. So it could start with the free-for all option of a little badge saying: * "We support X movement, free content etc." Then the next step should require a simple vetting process to make sure they meet the aims/goals of the movement. That allows them the "Part of" badge. Finally, for the larger and significant projects there should be some form of "top level" affiliation or partnership that allows them access to the committee and organisational structure. I think people would find this more digestible. Advantages: * Allows us to develop a new brand name with a clearer message * Means the WMF isn't left "responsible" for the members/supporters of the movement (as the WMF would simply be a member of the movement) * It takes it away from the Foundation a little, which may be more palatable to others and encourage them to sign up The people to learn from here is the free software movement - Apache and GNU have gone through all of these stages and have some ideas we can use. Tom _______________________________________________ foundation-l mailing list foundation-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/foundation-l