--- SJ 2.718281828@gmail.com wrote:
On Thu, 10 Nov 2005, Elisabeth Bauer wrote:
case of press credentials but it stays their decision. If the wikinews community wants to hand out press credentials, they should submit their policy to the foundation and have it approved by the foundation. Since the
You could make exactly the same claim about any editorial policy on Wikipedia. The effects of a change in tagging, AFD, NPOV, or other quality-related policy on EN:WP likely has far more of an effect on the external perception of the Wiki[pedia] trademark than a press credential policy (be it on WP, WN, or even Commons).
Those policies only relate to what happens within Wikipedia. So I dont see how that applies to cases where the Wikinews name and logo are used in the real world. That may not be a trademark issue, but it does bear on the reputation of Wikinews and the foundation to the outside world. Press Credentials also has a very specific meaning in many countries and legislation of those countries and/or press union rules provide guidelines that organizations need to follow to give out credentials.
Once you stop trusting the community to develop sensible processes, every policy on every project eventually needs to be vetted by the foundation (whatever that means - special weekly Board sessions to review new processes? expedited treatment of minor process updates?). Every policy, no matter how small, affects Wikimedia trademarks in some way -- and the way they are percieved in some external relations.
Nobody here that Ive seen is advocating changing the already developed Wikinews accreditation policy. All I want are some high level safeguards built in so that the foundation can protect its good name and for the foundation to give its permission for its marks and logos to be used on press badges.
-- mav
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