+1 I agree entirely with every word of Erik's response here.

--Mike

Message: 2 Date: Mon, 8 Dec 2014 22:28:37 -0800 From: Erik Moeller erik@wikimedia.org To: Wikimedia Mailing List wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Subject: Re: [Wikimedia-l] WaPo Wikipedia's 'complicated; relationship with net neutrality Message-ID: CAEg6ZHmwuejO-F3t+1aAMuBpk98FvEBskRyw4sE2QCJGqo8=MQ@mail.gmail.com Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8

On Mon, Dec 8, 2014 at 8:35 PM, Jens Best jens.best@wikimedia.de wrote:

...

Wikipedia Zero should be newly framed as a leading example of Public Free Knowledge.

Hey Jens,

I think your line of argument here is reasonable, and we are generally thinking in the direction of how Wikipedia can be part of a broader coalition dedicated to free access to knowledge. Wikipedia Zero started off as an experiment to bring Wikipedia to millions of people who could otherwise not afford it. But now we should think (and are thinking) about the kind of coalition we want to create to bring free knowledge to every person on the planet, rather than primarily advocating for free access to Wikipedia.

I'd be indeed curious about your thoughts on how to define Public Free Knowledge. IMO the licensing status of the material ought to play some role in defining what kinds of resources should be made freely available in this manner. I don't know that this should be an absolutely non-negotiable criterion (even Wikimedia makes exceptions), but it should count for something.

Freely licensed material (in a manner compatible with the Definition of Free Cultural Works or the Open Knowledge Definition) is not tied to a specific website and host; the ability to fork free knowledge is a fundamental protection against the misuse of power. Moreover, if society creates a social contract that freely licensed and public domain information should be available free of charge, this creates further incentives to contribute to a true commons. It protects our heritage and reminds us to expand it. This is a position entirely consistent with our mission, as well.

I agree with Mike that WMF needs to take a practical stance to bring free knowledge to the largest number of people, and we need not apologize for Wikipedia Zero -- it's a program that serves the organization's mission well. But entirely practically speaking, building a greater coalition in support of access to knowledge could serve the mission to an even greater extent, if we manage to pull it off.

Imagine a world where you can take a smartphone or tablet without a contract and immediately connect to an ever-growing library of free knowledge, without charge. I couldn't think of a better 21st century equivalent to the foundation of public libraries, and frankly of a better way to even the odds for the survival of our species.

Erik

-- Erik Möller VP of Product & Strategy, Wikimedia Foundation