e), we currently have twin goals: the advancement of heritage and promotion of education for all. If we drop one, it's singular; as it is, I think it reads better to regard them as plural. The Charity Commission guidance on permissible purposes is at [http://www.charity-commission.gov.uk/spr/ca2006prov.asp#0]; the key line here is "the advancement of the arts, culture, heritage or science". I like mentioning heritage, but it does raise the question of why we don't also mention the advancement of culture.
b), I agree that we decided not to mention wikis, but it seems no-one actually changed the proposed text - would you like to?
Best Mickey
On Sun, Oct 12, 2008 at 8:48 PM, Tom Holden thomas.holden@gmail.com wrote:
I'm going to try to give a quick reply to the below in my flu-addled state. Been kind of busy this week up till now.
0=e) I'm not entirely comfortable with the introductory speal ("the charity's objects are blah dee blah dee blah"). Firstly shouldn't it be object singular? Secondly, can we cut the heritage gumph. There's only any point having this sentence at all if it coincides with WMF's objectives. We have heritage covered in what comes later (and heritage resources are by definition also educational resources), it's not like we're going to be buying up stately homes and preserving them. Plus wtf does "advancement of heritage for all" mean anyway? That we're all going to be plastered in Laura Ashley wallpaper? (OK I'm being facetious, but whatever happens that needs rewriting.) I'm also not sure about "by means which may include all or any of the following ". Perhaps "by means including but not limited to" would be better, but even this is potentially limiting as the WMF mission statement is. If we just treated everything equally in one long list of objects (including both the WMF mission statement and the currently numbered items) then we'd have maximal scope. 4=a) No no no no no. We want to survive in the world possible world in which the WMF somehow becomes evil. Or at least if something like what happened in Spain were to happen here. (I can't remember the details now.) Thus mentioning the WMF = dumb (and is in any case unnecessary). b) I'm pretty sure we decided in the meeting that we didn't need to mention wikis, hence: "freely accessible online information repositories whose content is freely and collaboratively editable". 10=c) I think I'm tentatively with TD on this one now. I suggest though that we leave it in for now but mark it as "subject to legal advice" (suggestion: put those bits as italic on the page for now). And then when my friend checks the MoA/AoA for us (potentially in parallel with the submission to ChapCom?) we'll get a definite answer one way or another.
Tom
-----Original Message----- From: wikimediauk-l-bounces@lists.wikimedia.org [mailto:wikimediauk-l-bounces@lists.wikimedia.org] On Behalf Of Mickey Conn Sent: 08 October 2008 01:25 To: wikimediauk-l@lists.wikimedia.org Subject: Re: [Wikimediauk-l] Objectives Discussion Thread
At the board meeting of 7th October, we put together a form of words for the Objectives http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_UK_v2.0/Objectives, but have not agreed a final version.
The new text states:
The charity's objects are the promotion of education and advancement of heritage for all by empowering and engaging people to collect, develop and effectively disseminate educational content and heritage resources under a free license or in the public domain by means which may include all or any of the following:
- promoting freely accessible online information repositories
whose content is freely and collaboratively editable; 2. acting as a voice and representative for the community of UK residents and citizens who use and edit such repositories; 3. preserving world heritage, and particularly that of the UK, through such repositories; 4. supporting the charitable work of the Wikimedia Foundation; 5. enabling, assisting, promoting and promulgating wider participation in the creation, dissemination and expansion of information and educational resources covering the world's knowledge and languages to all persons, everywhere; 6. furthering the development of electronic, printed, and other resources required to support such participation; 7. producing, publishing and developing, or cause to be produced, published and developed, information resources, whether in printed, electronic, or other forms; 8. making use of or encouraging the use of information resources for the advancement of education; 9. encouraging the adoption of practices and policies to widen education, participation and dissemination of information worldwide; and 10. undertaking any enterprise or business and generally do all such other things as may be conducive to promoting the objects of the charity.
The main questions raised at the board meeting were:
a) whether the text should specifically mention the Wikimedia Foundation; b) whether the text should specifically mention wikis; c) whether point #10 is clear, necessary and in line with charitable status; d) whether the organisation should be a "voice and representative for the community of UK residents and citizens", or for everyone with a connection to the UK; e) whether this list format is the best manner in which to describe our objectives.
This is the starting point; the board now need the views of the community. So please comment and make proposals, on this list, and on meta, within the next few days.
Wikimedia UK mailing list wikimediauk-l@wikimedia.org http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_UK http://mail.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediauk-l
Wikimedia UK mailing list wikimediauk-l@wikimedia.org http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_UK http://mail.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediauk-l