On 17 March 2016 at 16:58, Federico Leva (Nemo) <nemowiki@gmail.com> wrote:

Risker, 16/03/2016 13:34:

Requiring people to join is almost the antithesis of what being
Wikimedian is all about.

No, it isn't. It's a standard practice that has no additional cost for the person and no obligation after Wikimania; in return you get a big bag of nice legal rights, such as asking about the association's budget, which in the past have just been a "courtesy". Furthering transparency is definitely not the antithesis of being a wikimedian.

Nemo, it's not standard practice. I've been to four or five wikimanias and never had to join an association to go there. I have never had to join an association to attend any other Wikimedia-related conference, session, or activity. The Wikimedia movement has openly embraced the lack of requirement to identify or create an account/membership to participate since day one of its existence. The budget of Wikimania should be published onwiki, it should be transparent (to use the current buzzword) to everyone, and nobody should have to pay money in order to find out its budget.

Risker