On Wed, June 27, 2007 21:48, michael west wrote:
Whats to stop wiki-haters filling up the chapter with
their
supports to force constitutional changes etc. As a limited company, the
board it protected from outside attack.
I'd start by pointing at [[WP:AGF]] but yes, we believe we have taken into
account the best options and practice available to allow us to protect the
interests of the chapter and its aims, both as regards the Wikimedia
projects and also in respect of the other educational aims the
organisation has. This is the primary reason why the chapter is organised
as a Company limited by Guarantee - a non-profit by definition - which has
clearly defined aims and legal strictures in place.
We have slightly split the working practice though to consider the
'Chapter' as a superset of the members in order that individuals
(hopefully editors!) who are under 18 may be involved. It could be
considered that one of the reasons the (US-based) Wikimedia Foundation
doesn't have a wider membership is to protect it in the way you note, and
we considered whether that was the right approach to take here. We didn't
want to do that though, and eventually created what we believe will be a
mechanism that will allow both an effective membership alongside an
effective Chapter.
Alison Wheeler