On Wed, Sep 29, 2010 at 12:39 PM, Thomas Dalton <thomas.dalton(a)gmail.com> wrote:
Actually, I'm quite the pragmatist. You are being an idealist by
assuming that can just go with the nice solution and it will all work
out fine, despite the very real risks involved with a top-5 website
appearing to take sides in a major international dispute.
What might these terrible consequences actually be? "Wikipedia sides
with Kosovo independence, gives local organization chapter status:
U.N. Security Council resolution condemns interference"? Pragmatism
would have you first identify the actual consequences, then determine
if they are significant, then decide if they present an insurmountable
hurdle to action. I don't think the issue of chapters is particularly
politically radioactive, so... If the groups of people in Kosovo and
in Serbia are non-overlapping, then I don't see why we would allow
political issues, that have nothing to do with the Wikimedia
Foundation, to unnecessarily limit Wikimedia reach and resources in
that region.
Nathan