[Foundation-l] Support for local chapters

[Angela]

There has apparently been a major misunderstanding over my view
towards local chapters, so I want to go on record as saying I
*strongly* support the idea of Wikimedia having local chapters and I
always have done.

The source of the misunderstanding appears to be an edit by an
anonymous user:
http://meta.wikimedia.org/w/wiki.phtml?title=Talk:Membership_fees&diff=41997&oldid=41996
stating they did not see the point of local chapters.

Anthere later edited the page to sign this comment as me:
http://meta.wikimedia.org/w/wiki.phtml?title=Talk:Membership_fees&diff=48109&oldid=47756

This was most definitely not me and represents the complete opposite
to my view. It was only on reading the logs of the Hindi Wikimedia IRC
channel that I discovered this problem.

I see the existence of Wikimedia chapters as a very positive step and
I will help in any way I can to encourage the growth of these. I hope
to see them in every part of the world. I want one day for no one to
become a member directly of the Foundation because everyone will have
a local chapter they can join. Issues such as the legalities of money
transfer between chapters and the Foundation in certain countries are
problems that we need to work around, but these should in no way
prevent the creation of a chapter in any country with a sufficient
number of interested volunteers. The main reason I went to Berlin in
June was so I could learn more about the process of starting a chapter
since Wikimedia Germany were the first country to do this. I also went
to Paris and observed the beginnings of the French chapter there, and
discussed ESTU with Arno Lagrange when we were in London. I fully
intend to have a UK chapter registered as a charity in this country
later next year.

I have never been opposed to local chapters, and I am upset that
people are under the mistaken impression that I am.

Angela