On Sun, Sep 13, 2009 at 4:01 AM, Thomas Dalton <thomas.dalton(a)gmail.com> wrote:
2009/9/12 Yann Forget <yann(a)forget-me.net>et>:
Thomas Dalton wrote:
While that is true, it is also important to
remember that most people
setting up a chapter have next to no experience of running a
non-profit. They don't know what is and isn't appropriate to spend
donations on, they don't necessarily know what needs to done and just
because they know their culture in general doesn't mean they know how
the charity sector works in their country. The Foundation could
provide a lot of advice on those issues. 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 think this is very rude. Why do you assume that people wanting to
create a Wikimedia chapter are incompetent? You need to have a bit more
trust for people you have never met and you don't know.
Why would I assume that someone knows how to do something they have
never done before? Someone from the Portuguese chapter has already
admitted they have very little experience. Note, I don't use the word
"incompetent" as an insult, I just use it to mean what it means - not
having a particular relevant competence.
I am also shocked by this very broad brush.
You are not just saying that they lack experience, or "competence" -
you are saying that chapters are likely to misuse funds.
The people setting up a Wikimedia chapter are usually extremely
dedicated, and they have set up a board of competent Wikimedians to
collaborate on decision making. They may not have experience running
a non-profit, however they are likely to be extremely socially
responsible to their members who are, for the most part, people they
work with closely on the Wikimedia projects.
If they are not responsible, the local memberships will dry up.
--
John Vandenberg