On 4/25/06, Andre Engels <andreengels(a)gmail.com> wrote:
2006/4/25, Delphine Ménard
<notafishz(a)gmail.com>om>:
Now. I have read in this thread many
counter-truths and misleading
statements. Let us make one thing very very clear.
Chapters, whatever their form, color or shape, are not responsible for
the content of Wikipedia or any other Wikimedia projects. Never. Ever.
At best, they will increase the pool of editors through promotion for
the projects. At worst, they have to relay the problems that they are
aware of "may be problematic content" (potential legal issues) to the
Wikimedia Foundation. That's it. There's no *editor* Wikimedia France*
or *Wikimedia Polska* or *Wikimedia Nederland*. There are editors who
pertain only to the projects, there are editors who pertain to both
the project and the organisation. End of the story.
I may agree with that, and you, but what about the Vereniging and
Stichting themselves? One reason this all started up is that the
Vereniging explicitly states in their statutes that it does not have
influence on the contents of the wikis. The Stichting as far as
possible copied the statutes of the Vereniging, but this point was
apparently on purpose left out.
Apparently I have not been clear enough. This is not about you or me
agreeing on anything. It is a fact. A plain fact.
__Wikimedia chapters are not responsible for the content of the
Wikimedia projects__
And that is the case, whether or not it is in their bylaws. If it is,
fine, if it is not, it does *not* make them responsible. Bylaws,
statutes or whatever those are called of an organisation are a
contract between the founders and potentially future members of an
organisation, following a specific local set of laws.
Bylaws and statutes are *not* a contract with the authors of the
Wikimedia projects, in Dutch or any other language, they are not a
contract with the Wikimedia Foundation. They do not give any right to
the chapter organisation over the content of any project.
The fact that something is *not in the bylaws* does *not* give a
power/responsibility that the organisation *does not* have in the
first place.
I hope this is clearer now.
Delphine
--
~notafish