[Foundation-l] Chapter-selected Board seats - brainstorming

[Andrew Whitworth]

On Thu, May 1, 2008 at 11:36 AM, Birgitte SB <birgitte_sb at yahoo.com> wrote:
>  I am not saying it is impossible for a US national chapter to exist.  But it will not be created through grass-roots self-organization as was the case for other chapters. The WMF looks foolish to sit on their hands and wait for it to form.  And WMF is not credible when they collect US tax-deductible money, solicit US press, etc. and then say US Wikimedians have the same opportunity to create a national chapter as everyone else if they want to participate in chapter stuff.  The honest options are a) WMF staff organize a US national chapter or b) Chapter committee approves US subnational chapter where there is grass-roots activity.

I disagree with this completely. Grass-roots organization is how the
US chapter(s) will form, it's the way things are currently
progressing. There are grass roots organizations, that I've heard of
(which may not be a comprehensive list) starting in many places: New
York, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Oregon, California, Massachusetts, and
other places. Progress has been mostly stagnant in these groups for
many reasons, all of which are organizational failures on the part of
the WMF/Chapcom.

It is my personal estimate that there could be as many as 10 or 12
active subnational US chapters operational within a year if all
barriers to entry were removed. Of course, there are many logistical
issues to work out before those barriers can be removed completely.

--Andrew Whitworth