Hi,
First of all, even selfish, I welcome this move: it means I should no more overnight only for talking WMF staff in their office hour: now, it is for me 23 - 7 in my local time. Moving in SF makes it 20 - 4. For me as individual, and I assume for most of Australian / Chinese editors who are somehow involved into the foundation issue, I think it will make their coordination with WMF office much easier. I think even only this year (so 9 months) the 3 o'clock in the morning for me was suggested "good hour for everyone/involved parties to have a meeting" three times: I hope decreasing the geographic distance between the office and Pacific-rim volunteers strengthens mutual relationship between those, which seems to have been established well between the Atlantic communities.
So, having experienced a sentiment of nonrecognition zed and distance, I think I easily imagine people in the US East Coast and in Europe feel sort of losses even to some extent. But I think the 7/8 hour differences which I experienced in collaboration with European editors are not so much painful for many people and the benefits which will bring from this move may compensate the community at large such feeling of loss.
9/22/07, geni geniice@gmail.com wrote:
On 22/09/2007, Thomas Dalton thomas.dalton@gmail.com wrote
You want to go near the major media groups?
Why not? You can work with your competition to mutual benefit, you know.
Not legally. Fortunately most media groups are not really competition (Getty and Corbis perhaps but I doubt they view us as a significant problem yet incidentally both of those are based in Seattle, Washington). No most media groups are at most looking at wikipedia for the source of a story. I'm not sure that is a reason to be near them.
I think Wikipedia has been an interest of press people, so having them in a near distance may improve the relation between those people. Also if I recall correctly, the Foundation only held its press conference in the occasions of Wikimania. If the office is located in a major city which some of global press people reside, is it more realistic for the office to have a press conference for things we would like to promote aggressively? So I think being in a reasonable distance from media people, it may not available in a city mainly considered "health resort" (at least En-Ja dictionaries I have say so about St. Pete, FL, so I assume it is a worldwide recognition)
Cheers,