Sam Johnston wrote:
Gerard Meijssen wrote:
If you are of the opinion that things can be done differently, please explain how. A printer makes money, that is how he earns his crust. So how would non-profit printing work. Does it exist ? You are also under the impression that "we" are meeting our targets.. What do you know of the financial position of the French chapter and what do you know of its ambitions ?
However you cut it this is advertising pure and simple. Yes it's buried behind a convenience function and I have no doubt the French chapter are doing all manner of interesting and constructive things, but who's to decide what is and what is not appropriate? If it's such a good idea, why is it not deployed centrally (with appropriate policies) so all chapters can take advantage of it (safely)?
Obviously, it's up to the French chapter to make it's own decisions in accordance with French law. ExpectinSpecial:Booksourceswg some kind of central decision about this kind of thing is a good way to make sure that nothing ever gets done. If they make a little money while they're at it so much the better; there is no need for an ultra-ideological stance about advertising in this.
Anyway how WMF interacts with its chapters is not the conversation I joined the list to contribute to so I'll leave it to you guys to nut it out between yourselves. Just bear in mind that the reputation of the organisation as a whole is easily tarnished by the wrong well-intended initiative and the proceeds are a drop in the ocean compared to what is raised by donation and that a fraction of what is theoretically possible.
Just how much control do you expect from the Central Committee? Sure, it's a given that some will-intentioned initiatives will go dreadfully awry. Bad things have happened in the past, and bad things will happen in the future; None of it will be prevented by imposing strict central control. Wikimedia is a resilient organisation, and it didn't get that way through paranoid musings about a tarnished reputation. It's not that fragile.
Ec