[Advocacy Advisors] Which would help volunteer editors more?

Wed Nov 27 13:58:08 UTC 2013

Hi James,

of course Free Knowledge doesn't appear in an empty space and relies on the
society and culture it "lives" in. Free Knowledge, in turn, also has the
power to bring about meaningful changes to said society.

Can you propose any specific project that is in line with the strategy,
mission and vision of our movement that will directly improve the economic
and physiological health of our editor pool? If yes, please share!

If not, I would suggest that we stick to what we're good at - changing the
world by changing the way knowledge is shared. This is where our expertise
lies and where we can really contribute. And it also directly affects the
economic situation of our editor pool (e.g. saving money on textbooks, more
free time due to quick and easy access to information).

Cheers,
Dimi

2013/11/27 James Salsman <jsalsman at gmail.com>

> The idea that the economic and physiological health of the editor pool
> isn't a large determinant of the proportion choosing to edit, if not the
> largest that we may have any meaningful control over after everything we've
> tried so far, simply does not seem defensible. What does it mean to empower
> a potential editor with the ability to share knowledge, if their
> circumstances leave them without the inclination to do so? That is the
> difference between empowering and merely enabling, is it not? A slightly
> more complete encyclopedia with society crumbling around it is not an
> improvement over a less complete  encyclopedia in symbiosis with a
> flourishing society.
>  On Nov 27, 2013 6:14 PM, "L.Gelauff" <lgelauff at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> Dear James,
>>
>> You keep amazing me with the topics you bring up on this list. It might
>> be just that I'm utterly naive and not understanding what Wikimedia is all
>> about, but I seriously have a hard time seeing a connection at all with our
>> mission - let alone how any serious impact could be achieved or how this
>> could become a priority.
>>
>> While we all have political opinions on 'the big issues' (well, most of
>> us) I think that almost everyone agrees that Wikimedia should refrain from
>> taking a stand on issues not directly related with its mission. Even on
>> issues like net neutrality, the use of free software in government or
>> software patents there is a serious concern with many of our volunteers
>> that we should not get involved with those discussions.
>>
>> So please, lets focus on what we're good at and where we can have a real
>> impact. That is hard enough on itself. I would appreciate it if you could
>> ask yourself more critically whether something you post would really
>> support our mission, before you post it. While there are no stupid
>> questions, some restraint can help in being taken seriously rather than
>> being considered trolling.
>>
>> Kind regards,
>>
>> Lodewijk
>>
>>
>> 2013/11/27 James Salsman <jsalsman at gmail.com>
>>
>>> I agree an international approach would be best, but at the same time,
>>> [1] and [2] seriously limit the number and capabilities of would-be,
>>> active, and inactive volunteer editors.
>>>
>>> [1]
>>> http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/among-american-workers-poll-finds-unprecedented-anxiety-about-jobs-economy/2013/11/25/fb6a5ac8-5145-11e3-a7f0-b790929232e1_story.html
>>>
>>> [2]
>>> http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2013/11/america-stingiest-rich-country-world
>>>
>>> Is it even possible to take a truly international approach to the
>>> underlying issue? I hope so, but I fear that any such approach will be
>>> more Kumbaya than active or effective problem solving.
>>>
>>>
>>> On Wed, Nov 27, 2013 at 5:17 PM, Raul Veede <raul.veede at gmail.com>
>>> wrote:
>>> > Seriously, none of these. I'm completely satisfied with my job, I like
>>> my
>>> > boss a lot and although my pay is not much, I don't believe any spree
>>> of
>>> > activism in U.S. ("Every two weeks, our volunteers telephone targeted
>>> U.S.
>>> > government decision makers...blah blah" http://incomeaction.org)
>>> would give
>>> > more money for spending to my local government in Estonia. It may come
>>> as a
>>> > surprise, but not everybody on Earth is American. Don't get me wrong,
>>> U.S.
>>> > is all nice and fluffy, but Wikimedia movement is global. Let's focus
>>> on
>>> > that.
>>> >
>>> > Raul
>>> >
>>> >
>>> > On Tue, Nov 26, 2013 at 6:13 PM, James Salsman <jsalsman at gmail.com>
>>> wrote:
>>> >>
>>> >> Which would help volunteer editors more:
>>> >> http://www.fixmyjob.com/
>>> >> or
>>> >> http://incomeaction.org/
>>> >> assuming the latter was completed?
>>> >>
>>> >>
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>>> >>
>>> >
>>> >
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>>
>>
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