[Advocacy Advisors] Advocacy Advisor list (imo)

[Jens Best]

This list is - as of now - pretty useless and more likely an “occupational
therapy“ to keep engaged people busy while ignoring them.

For month many experts here gave the foundation the clear advice to do
something against the massive violation of net neutrality by Wikipedia Zero.

Obviously the foundation doesn't even care. The ignorant and plain wrong
public remarks on net neutrality by a board member of the foundation at
Wikimania and the press release by Erik which was full of PR-speak, but
offered no solution to the problem at hand showed that this list is used
for nothing by the actual people in charge at the foundation right now.

Many people on this list were trying to find an “internal“ solution for the
Wikimedia Movement for respecting net neutrality - Wikipedia Zero in its
current form isn't. Representatives of the foundation told people on this
list that the foundation would work on a solution and that we should be a
little patient...

Now the foundation will have to handle a more public criticisms of its
ignorant behavior towards net neutrality. Journalists, activists and
digital rights organizations around the world already took notice about
this questionable behavior.

It's one thing to encounter a fight with the community on e.g. Media Viewer
(for which I'm pro btw), it's a totally different thing to violate
principles which are more important than Wikimedia, because they effect the
whole web. Being the 5th biggest website brings a certain responsibility
when it comes to reflect and defend important aspects of a free and open
web. Ignoring them when it comes to brand marketing is the opposite of
taking this responsibility.

Best regards

Jens
Am 16.08.2014 14:03 schrieb "Tisza Gergő" <gtisza at gmail.com>:

> On Tue, Aug 12, 2014 at 3:22 PM, Amgine <amgine at wikimedians.ca> wrote:
>
>> The advocacy advisory list was constituted to advise - on request - the
>> WMF regarding topics of advocacy when the WMF has been asked to advocate on
>> behalf of the community. For example, if a free-speech coalition asked WMF
>> to sign onto a letter opposing a specific legislation, the WMF might ask
>> this list to explain how the legislation affected the WMF principles, and
>> how some members of the community feel about the issues.
>>
>
> As a reminder, here are the guidelines Michelle wrote when starting this
> list:
>
> https://lists.wikimedia.org/pipermail/advocacy_advisors/2012-August/000002.html
> Those set a significantly wider scope than "a place where the community
> can answer when the Foundation asks them".
>
> _______________________________________________
> Advocacy_Advisors mailing list
> Advocacy_Advisors at lists.wikimedia.org
> https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/advocacy_advisors
>
>
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