On Wed, May 5, 2010 at 2:08 PM, Guillaume Paumier <guillom.pom(a)gmail.com> wrote: Again, http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Talk:Wikimedia_California has the general answers (for projects which have already been suggested) to the first of these questions. If the answers to why an informal group could not accomplish the tasks listed or how a chapter could are not clear, please let me know. As for other means of addressing those issues, so far I have not seen anyone except Phoebe and Jon obtain any sucess through an informal process. For example when I was asked to obtain quotes for LCDs and a projector for Maker Faire, I did so, and asked the San Francisco list about who would be obtaining the specified equipment, I was told in no uncertain terms that I should not be asking the Foundation. In fact, I've been rebuffed on more than one occasion for asking for what I thought would be fairly simple things. I understand the reasons now, but they were not clear at the time. This has convinced me that we should be following the established Foundation chapter grants process instead of simply using informal email or IRC to ask Foundation staff to obtain the requirements for the projects which have been proposed. Is there any evidence to the contrary? Regards, James

On Wed, May 5, 2010 at 3:40 PM, Jon Davis <wiki(a)konsoletek.com> wrote: I've expanded http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Talk:Wikimedia_California to try to address your request for specific examples, but I've got some questions. I'm not sure what you are trying to say here. At the March Meetup at Yahoo, I remember you specified two LCD displays and a projector, along with five computers (e.g. laptops). Is that correct? At the time, you told me that they should be requested from Danese (as Micha recorded in the action items) but when I tried to follow up with Foundation staff after Micha posted the action items, I'm still not sure what the resolution was. So, are those being requested from the Foundation or from people's spare electronics? What is the status of their availability? It seems unreasonable to depend on people's generosity with spare hardware; it's hard to tell when those sorts of things are an imposition. A funded Chapter project would certainly solve the issues which I experienced. Yes; again, I'm preparing some initial grant applications according to the established Foundation process and template. My primary interest is supporting and enhancing educational applications, like Mediawiki's Quiz Extension, which provide more bona fide educational experiences to users than simply displaying non-interactive text and images. Right, a lot of expensive hardware, which the Foundation doesn't (or at least hasn't, so far) have time to spec, evaluate, benchmark, or test in a way that a funded Chapter project would have the allocated time and resources for. I, for one, have been and intend to remain providing technical assistance, advice, and suggestions to Foundation staff and volunteers, and I know the Bay Area community has a huge wealth of professional and hobbyist talent in these regards. If you don't want to be a part of asking the Foundation to support such efforts, that's fine, but I do, and I intend to ask until I become convinced that the Foundation is adequately staffed and capable of performing such evaluations on their own, and that they are actually doing so. There is no reason we couldn't initially leave such a Foundation chapter grant request open ended, so the Foundation could decide the extent to which they prefer assistance with next-generation hardware validation and benchmarking. The point is that there are a huge range of grants, such as http://tinyurl.com/WikimediaNSF and similar government and foundation grants, which the Foundation doesn't have the time or inclination to apply for, but which could easily fund all of the discussed projects and Chapter staff over a very long term. I think failing to try would be a pointless mistake. It seems a little disingenuous to complain that your hard work (which everyone appreciates) is the only thing that ever makes things happen, and then in the next breath discourage attempts to help provide assistance through the established process for doing so at the local level. Regards, James

Hey Everyone, I am originally from Egypt, and I am involved in the ongoing effort to create a chapter in Alexandria, my home city. One thing I found strange was that it was much easier to find an organized, active community in Alexandria, than it was in Los Angeles where I moved some time ago. The situation may be a lot better up north owing to the presence of WMF and silicon valley in general. So, I support the idea of a Wikimedia chapter if it will mean more local events/projects/etc, I also find it hard to believe that the potential for funding opportunities in california has been fully explored by the foundation. However, I have come to support the chapters committee idea about how a chapter should grow organically from an organized community and not vice versa, I dont know what the situation is up north with regards to the number of active members willing to organize more and commit to projects, etc, but for me in SoCal, the only sign of activity I could personally find was a couple of informal meetups that happened in 2005... -- Best Regards, Muhammad Yahia

Hey Pharos, Sorry for the late reply, just saw this :) , I will definitely use the geonotice, thanks. Hope more action can be arranged for SoCal. On Sat, May 15, 2010 at 2:56 PM, Pharos <pharosofalexandria(a)gmail.com>wrote;wrote: -- Best Regards, Muhammad Yahia