Daniel Mayer wrote:
The value of freedom is in its use. The fact that Wikipedia is free makes it much more useful. One reason I contribute is that I know my contributions will be kept free; again, that is a means to an end (getting people like me and you to add content and discourage viable forks by making it possible to easily incorporate any changes to the forked version).
Well yes, in a broad sense if there were no possible uses, then it would not have much purposes. But I don't see it as a means to any specific end, certainly anything so specific as distributing an encyclopedia to everyone in the world---a large body of Free high-quality information is the end. By the nature of Free information, other ends can then follow by whoever wants them to follow, without them even having to get permission from us.
I think where I seem to be differing at least from Jimbo, and possibly from you, is that I don't see us as going for any specific one of the possible uses that can be made, but instead as enabling all of them. In fact, I think it would be ideal if the Wikimedia Foundation were *not* the one making all those uses---we will have succeeded if we produce a high-quality free encyclopedia that enables thousands of third parties to distribute, adapt, and use it however they wish, coordinating or not with us as they please.
-Mark