On 5/25/06, Daniel Mayer <maveric149(a)yahoo.com>
wrote:
There are real limits to the amount that can get
done via email, IRC, and telephones. For example,
we were able to do more work in the January face-to-face meeting than we did in the
previous six
months. Face-to-face communication simply has a much higher bandwith (as does having
direct
physical access to records). Increasing the opportunity for that by physical proximity to
the
people we want and need to be in contact with, can only reap great benefits.
Okay, so even if this was the case, would the foundation be wanting to
rent or buy? Buying would obviously be more cost-effective, but how
much would the foundation be willing to spend on a new office?
Buying real estate would be a bad idea from a resk management
perspective. The possibility of expensive legal suits will always be
there, no matter how much we strive for accuracy in Wikipedia articles.
One thing you don't want in such circumstances is assets that can be
lusted after by suitors. By having one (perhaps for-profit) company
lease servers to an associated non-profit company you can cut the risk
of being sued.
Ec