[Foundation-l] Mission/Vision Statement

[Erik Moeller]

On 1/7/07, Gregory Maxwell <gmaxwell at gmail.com> wrote:
> Same argument applies. I don't see how the internet is important to
> our mission. It's the best tool for the job today, sure, but it's not
> our mission. Sure we can revise it.. but why bother mentioning it. Our
> mission is providing effective support for the creation and
> propagation of this free content. That we use the Internet is true
> today, but it's not at all fundimental ... it simply adds length
> without adding clarity.

I do believe it's fundamental, as it reflects a very important minimum
commitment: Whether we will be able to freely give away information in
other contexts, we will always give it away through the Internet (or
whatever its successor technology may be). I had "global communication
networks" in an earlier version, but I think "Internet" should be safe
for the next few years.

> The words "Free Content" are effectively a domain specific jargon, and
> I think our mission statement should be free of such jargon. I think
> the best way to avoid the jargon is to just say what we mean.

Perhaps -- if you feel a short mini definition of the core freedoms
would be better, feel free to give it a whack.

> We can offset the additional length by removing the free-beer aspects
> of the current draft. I believe the free-beerness of Wikimedia itself
> is a natural side effect of our mission of wide propagation but not in
> and of itself a fundamental goal.

Well, my take is different -- it _is_ a fundamental goal to not just
disseminate widely, but to _guarantee_ that the work done by
volunteers through the project will always be freely available through
at least the channel through which it was created.
-- 
Peace & Love,
Erik

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