I would be strongly opposed to endorsing political lobbying groups on this or any other issues. I would like Wikimedia UK to be an educational organisation that remains fastidiously neutral on these conflicts and does not take any political sides, whether it is the side of the Pirate Party (featured quite prominently on the ORG website) or any of the more mainstream parties. Andreas On Fri, Aug 3, 2012 at 1:43 PM, Jon Davies <jon.davies(a)wikimedia.org.uk>wrote;wrote: _______________________________________________ Wikimedia UK mailing list wikimediauk-l(a)wikimedia.org http://mail.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediauk-l WMUK: http://uk.wikimedia.org

So it is then up to a charity to decide 'what is relevant' In our case we felt that SOPA/PIPA was relevant and went as far as to black out the English Wikipedia for a day.

no legal control over Wikipedia nor responsibility for its contents.

In our case we felt that SOPA/PIPA was relevant and went as far as to black out the English Wikipedia for a day.

I understand your fear of appearing political but it is not political to respond to government consultations - that is a civic duty. The Charity commission is very clear about this: All charities are united by having a vision of a better society. They have many different purposes, and are focused on different needs. But in the main they are united by a desire to achieve change, whether for a particular group of people in need, or for the wider common good. It is not surprising then that many charities wish to speak out, to use their voice and influence, and to campaign for the changes that would best help them achieve their purposes. Have a look at the guidance in detail: http://www.charity-commission.gov.uk/Charity_requirements_guidance/ccpubs3.… So it is then up to a charity to decide 'what is relevant' In our case we felt that SOPA/PIPA was relevant and went as far as to black out the English Wikipedia for a day. More recently we were consulted on copyright issues and with community support we were able to make our case The board agreed that this would be a suitable issue to comment on. Thanks for your input, Jon Davies. On 3 August 2012 13:54, Andreas Kolbe <jayen466(a)gmail.com> wrote: I would be strongly opposed to endorsing political lobbying groups on this or any other issues. I would like Wikimedia UK to be an educational organisation that remains fastidiously neutral on these conflicts and does not take any political sides, whether it is the side of the Pirate Party (featured quite prominently on the ORG website) or any of the more mainstream parties. Andreas On Fri, Aug 3, 2012 at 1:43 PM, Jon Davies <jon.davies(a)wikimedia.org.uk> wrote: I sent this around a while back. The ORG would like our support. Joscelyn Upendram is preparing a simple reponse on our behalf, if anyone wants to offer her ideas contact her directly Jon Davies. -------------------------------- From ORG: 'Peter, is preparing a CDB briefing for companies and holders of user comms data. This is pretty much where you are as an organisation, although you may wish to make broader points if you put evidence to the consultation.' The deadline is August 23, and details are here: http://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/joint-select/dr… -- Jon Davies - Chief Executive Wikimedia UK. Mobile (0044) 7803 505 169 tweet @jonatreesdavies Wikimedia UK is a Company Limited by Guarantee registered in England and Wales, Registered No. 6741827. Registered Charity No.1144513 Registered Office 4th Floor, Development House, 56-64 Leonard Street, London EC2A 4LT. United Kingdom. Telephone (0044) 207 065 0990. Wikimedia UK is the UK chapter of the Wikimedia Foundation (who operate Wikipedia, amongst other projects). It is an independent non-profit organization with no legal control over Wikipedia nor responsibility for its contents. Visit http://www.wikimedia.org.uk/ and @wikimediauk _______________________________________________ Wikimedia UK mailing list wikimediauk-l(a)wikimedia.org http://mail.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediauk-l WMUK: http://uk.wikimedia.org _______________________________________________ Wikimedia UK mailing list wikimediauk-l(a)wikimedia.org http://mail.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediauk-l WMUK: http://uk.wikimedia.org -- Jon Davies - Chief Executive Wikimedia UK. Mobile (0044) 7803 505 169 tweet @jonatreesdavies Wikimedia UK is a Company Limited by Guarantee registered in England and Wales, Registered No. 6741827. Registered Charity No.1144513 Registered Office 4th Floor, Development House, 56-64 Leonard Street, London EC2A 4LT. United Kingdom. Telephone (0044) 207 065 0990. Wikimedia UK is the UK chapter of the Wikimedia Foundation (who operate Wikipedia, amongst other projects). It is an independent non-profit organization with no legal control over Wikipedia nor responsibility for its contents. Visit http://www.wikimedia.org.uk/ and @wikimediauk _______________________________________________ Wikimedia UK mailing list wikimediauk-l(a)wikimedia.org http://mail.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediauk-l WMUK: http://uk.wikimedia.org

On 03/08/12 15:46, Michael Peel wrote: But will the public always be clear about the distinction between "EN Wikipedia" and "Wikimedia UK"? Are they now?

> https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:WMNL_-_NRC_CHARITY_AWARD.jpg

That's excellent - do you think we could use our own-branded derivative

On 3 Aug 2012, at 09:06, Gordon Joly wrote: Maybe we should start regularly pointing them towards this illustration to make it all clear: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:WMNL_-_NRC_CHARITY_AWARD.jpg Thanks, Mike

........and as a group of charities supported by public donation we owe it to the public to say who we are and what we're about, nevertheless the whims of the press and of the news cycle are not necessarily anything we should actually concern ourselves over as we fulfill our various missions.

No they aren't, and they shouldn't be expected to, because the two have a great overlap of membership and the same goals.

On 3 August 2012 14:06, Tom Morris <tom(a)tommorris.org> wrote:

Andreas is mainlining Wikipediocracy memes, which are more or less weird dystopic fanfiction from an alternate universe featuring some real names. See recent tl;dr on wikimedia-l, and also keep in mind his most recent service to WMUK.

On 3 August 2012 13:43, Jon Davies <jon.davies(a)wikimedia.org.uk> wrote: Its unreasonable to expect people to comment without at least a rough idea of what response is being prepared. -- geni _______________________________________________ Wikimedia UK mailing list wikimediauk-l(a)wikimedia.org http://mail.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediauk-l WMUK: http://uk.wikimedia.org