The Wikimedia Foundation first heard about this a few hours ago: we don't have a lot of details yet. Jay is gathering information and working on a statement now.
It seems obvious though that the proposed law would hurt freedom of expression in Italy, and therefore it's entirely reasonable for the Italian Wikipedians to oppose it. The Wikimedia Foundation will support their position.
The question of whether blocking access to Wikipedia is the best possible way to draw people's attention to this issue is of course open for debate and reasonable people can disagree. My understanding is that the decision was taken via a good community process. Regardless, what's done is done, for the moment.
Thanks, Sue On Oct 4, 2011 1:33 PM, "Risker" risker.wp@gmail.com wrote:
Rather than try to respond to a specific post in this fast moving thread,
my
belief is that the WMF is likely trying to work directly with members of
the
Italian Wikipedia community primarily right now rather than keeping up
with
mailing lists. While I do look forward to seeing some communication on
this
issue, that community needs to be the focus.
(As an aside, kudos to Milos' rapid response and ability to organize his
own
local community in support of the concerns of our Italian counterparts.)
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