Guaka wrote:
But you raise an important issue, which is whether *we* as an *organisation* should financially help similar ideas (ie, paying editors). Of course, this requires specific requirements (such as control, validation of final quality, starting language with few editors expected, local organisers etc...), but on the concept, should we or should we not ?
I guess *we* is the Wikimedia Foundation. I don't think Wikimedia should fund projects that pay editors. There are plenty of NGO's and there is plenty of money going into development projects for developing countries. Lots of that money is spent on expensive plane flights and big salaries to send white people to poor countries. So what we (as in the broader Wikipedia community) can do is try to get some of that money to develop projects we think can make a difference, by directly paying many people in poor countries (as opposed to several politicians and big men gaining lots of bribes).
If I wanted to give to such a place delivery could be a big problem. If you send cash or if you send the computers there will always be too many open hands between you and the recipient. If you use mainstream NGOs money also gets wasted sending the cameraman to take pictures of the NGO agent doing his good deeds. In the early stages you need someone there whom you can trust to distribute the funds properly.
Ec