2009/9/12 Andrew Gray <andrew.gray(a)dunelm.org.uk>uk>:
2009/9/12 Thomas Dalton
<thomas.dalton(a)gmail.com>om>:
While I don't doubt that the
Portuguese Wikimedians are acting in good faith, trust requires two
things - good faith and competence. They are almost certainly not
competent since they haven't had an opportunity to develop that
competence yet, so they should not be trusted to be making the right
decisions.
I'm a bit worried about this sort of approach. Taken to extremes, we
wouldn't let the local chapter organise itself at all, because clearly
none of them would know how to do it until after they've had
experience running it, etc etc etc.
I think it makes perfect sense to help people the first time they do something.
People will make bad decisions, estimates,
projections, guesses,
conclusions sometimes; it happens. We spot them the second time
around, once we've realised they're wrong, fix them, and move on.
By that time that harm may have already been done. If that harm is
minimal, then it might be worth the risk, but I don't think risking
$3,500 of WMF donor's money to be minimal.