Thomas Dalton,
I'm not on Interal-L, nor is any other Wikimedia volunteer from Brazil. This is why I'm making the suggestion below. Feel free to share this message on Internal-L.
Instead of discussing on Internal-L, among only yourselves, the arguments collaboratively created by Brazilian volunteers, I believe we should discuss them on the wiki page where it was originally created, right?
http://br.wikimedia.org/wiki/Relacionamento_com_a_Wikimedia_Foundation/Comit...http://br.wikimedia.org/wiki/Relacionamento_com_a_Wikimedia_Foundation/Comit%C3%AA_de_Cap%C3%ADtulos/Resposta_aos_questionamentos_2010_02#On_the_choice_of_a_distributed_chapter_model
Could you please post your comment on the discussion page associated with the link above? I'd love to carry on with the discussion with you and any other interested person there.
Thanks,
Thomas de Souza Buckup http://br.wikimedia.org/wiki/Relacionamento_com_a_Wikimedia_Foundation/Comit%C3%AA_de_Cap%C3%ADtulos/Resposta_aos_questionamentos_2010_02#On_the_choice_of_a_distributed_chapter_model
On Fri, Mar 26, 2010 at 4:04 PM, Thomas Dalton thomas.dalton@gmail.comwrote:
Thank you for sending us this explanation. I'm afraid a disagree agree with your reasons, though.
Reasons The single most important reason is scalability in the Brazilian context. Brazil has almost two hundred million people spread over a continental
area,
with strikingly unequal distribution of wealth and education. Incorporating and maintaining a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) in Brazil represents a significant cost, and authority hierarchies create distrust and dissipate the motivation of volunteers.
Does incorporating and maintaining an NGO in Brazil could significantly more than in other countries? I disagree about hierarchies creating distrust. A chapter doesn't need a strong hierarchy, it just needs one to handle admin and money, really. A well-run chapter shouldn't dissipate motivation.
Thus, a single Wikimedia chapter would not be able to handle the
diversity
of challenges and the organizational overhead.
I don't see how that follows.