Hoi,
Another beautiful proclamation from GerardM that is as nonsequiter
and irrelevant as it is asinine.
On Oct 12, 2007, at 5:16 AM, GerardM wrote:
Hoi,
Make a distinction. I have never seen a "confederate flag" at any
of the
Wikimanias.
So at the event everyone is very much welcome.
Nobody ever said there was. Why hello Mr. Strawman?
The aim of a
Wikimania is to bring people from all over the world together to
talk wiki,
wiki in any shape or form. It is a Wikimedia Foundation event so it
is very
much MediaWiki and WMF projects that is on the agenda.
They can't do that from jail, or from a hospital can they?
The aim of the Wikimedia Foundation is to bring
information to the
world.
This means all of the world, not just those parts of the world
where Western
people feel comfortable. Bringing free npov information to the
world is what
we aim to achieve by going to all parts of the world. From an
organisation's
point of view all the reset is secondary.
So it's the message, rather than the convention attendees' safety,
that is the priority? I'm sure the WMF doesn't agree with that.
Please don't imply that is the way that they think.
Yes, it is best if everyone feels comfortable in
coming to a
Wikimania. When
Wikimania goes to the Middle East, it has not gone to Africa
proper. When
Anthere says in her speech that Africa should be on our agenda, it
is a step
towards Africa. We do not talk explicitly about many things. The
reason is
imho simple; it is not what we are there for. This is what others
deal with.
It is not a matter of whether women and gays feel comfortable there.
It's a matter of whether they can be safe there and not imprisoned,
harassed, or assaulted.
I am unhappy that people find that they are unable to
go to Egypt.
I am
extremely unhappy that this discussion is happening after a
decision; a
decision that has been made and is final.
Apparently you missed the part of where people are upset about the
way the decision was made. Also, please note that several people
addressed the safety and LGBT concerns DURING the bid process and
were told that they were trolling, or told to stop asking questions.
In one case, instead of responding to a direct question about
Alexandria's safety concerns, their bid team completely ignored the
subject and instead attacked Atlanta. The fact that this whole
argument was never even given due weight is why we are bringing it up.
What upsets me greatly is that
the quality of the arguments about this issue, particularly about how
foreigners are treated in Egypt, is of such a quality that the
argument
would be likely deleted in Wikipedia. We are talking largely about
hearsay
and the arguments of there not being a problem are at least as
strong and
better documented.
Bullshit. We've sourced our arguments with valid sources. I believe I
sent out an email with 5 or 6 of them, a few days ago. If you choose
to ignore them that is your choice; do not deign to look down upon us
mortals and call us silly little trolls.
Thanks,
GerardM
Thanks,
Dan