+1 I agree entirely with every word of Erik's response here.
--Mike > Message: 2 > Date: Mon, 8 Dec 2014 22:28:37 -0800 > From: Erik Moeller <e...@wikimedia.org> > To: Wikimedia Mailing List <wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org> > Subject: Re: [Wikimedia-l] WaPo Wikipedia's 'complicated; relationship > with net neutrality > Message-ID: > <CAEg6ZHmwuejO-F3t+1aAMuBpk98FvEBskRyw4sE2QCJGqo8=m...@mail.gmail.com> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8 > > On Mon, Dec 8, 2014 at 8:35 PM, Jens Best <jens.b...@wikimedia.de> wrote: > >> Wikipedia Zero should be newly framed as a leading example of Public >> Free Knowledge. > > Hey Jens, > > I think your line of argument here is reasonable, and we are generally > thinking in the direction of how Wikipedia can be part of a broader > coalition dedicated to free access to knowledge. Wikipedia Zero > started off as an experiment to bring Wikipedia to millions of people > who could otherwise not afford it. But now we should think (and are > thinking) about the kind of coalition we want to create to bring free > knowledge to every person on the planet, rather than primarily > advocating for free access to Wikipedia. > > I'd be indeed curious about your thoughts on how to define Public Free > Knowledge. IMO the licensing status of the material ought to play some > role in defining what kinds of resources should be made freely > available in this manner. I don't know that this should be an > absolutely non-negotiable criterion (even Wikimedia makes exceptions), > but it should count for something. > > Freely licensed material (in a manner compatible with the Definition > of Free Cultural Works or the Open Knowledge Definition) is not tied > to a specific website and host; the ability to fork free knowledge is > a fundamental protection against the misuse of power. Moreover, if > society creates a social contract that freely licensed and public > domain information should be available free of charge, this creates > further incentives to contribute to a true commons. It protects our > heritage and reminds us to expand it. This is a position entirely > consistent with our mission, as well. > > I agree with Mike that WMF needs to take a practical stance to bring > free knowledge to the largest number of people, and we need not > apologize for Wikipedia Zero -- it's a program that serves the > organization's mission well. But entirely practically speaking, > building a greater coalition in support of access to knowledge could > serve the mission to an even greater extent, if we manage to pull it > off. > > Imagine a world where you can take a smartphone or tablet without a > contract and immediately connect to an ever-growing library of free > knowledge, without charge. I couldn't think of a better 21st century > equivalent to the foundation of public libraries, and frankly of a > better way to even the odds for the survival of our species. > > Erik > > -- > Erik Möller > VP of Product & Strategy, Wikimedia Foundation _______________________________________________ Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, <mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe>
