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

[Birgitte SB]

--- On Thu, 5/1/08, Andrew Whitworth <wknight8111 at gmail.com> wrote:

> From: Andrew Whitworth <wknight8111 at gmail.com>
> Subject: Re: [Foundation-l] Chapter-selected Board seats - brainstorming
> To: birgitte_sb at yahoo.com, "Wikimedia Foundation Mailing List" <foundation-l at lists.wikimedia.org>
> Date: Thursday, May 1, 2008, 12:17 PM
> 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.
> 

You misunderstood my message (probably because did a poor job qualifying it).  I agree with you that if subnational *chapters* are allowed there will be the grassroots organization for them.  I speaking of the grassroots organization of a national *chapter* if subnantional *chapters* are disalowed or required to be subchapters of an existiong national one.

Birgitte SB


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