[Textbook-l] Global Text Project

[Robert Scott Horning]

Erik Moeller wrote:

>On 9/8/06, Robert Scott Horning <robert_horning at netzero.net> wrote:
>
>  
>
>>For myself, I strongly suspect anything that starts with "students in
>>the developing world" and doesn't acknowledge disadvantaged individuals
>>even in supposedly "first world" countries to be more or less a scam and
>>something to stay away from.  If their overall goal is to bring benefits
>>to people in specific countries but also benefit other people in the
>>process, I'm much more likly to support such a general project.
>>
>>Of course, that is why I also consider the OLPC project to be something
>>of a scam as well, on the same grounds.
>>    
>>
>
>I think that's an unhelpful position. When you start by calling a
>project "more or less a scam", you will be less likely to change
>hearts and minds than by simply stating your position clearly (if
>forcefully). The OLPC folks I know are good people who are likely to
>listen to constructive suggestions. Also, we're not above making
>similar mistakes. IMHO, the language in Jimmy's personal appeal for
>donations, for example, (literally: "I'm doing this for the child in
>Africa") could have used considerable polish.
>  
>
By calling something like this a scam, I am refering to the fact that 
there seem to be individuals acting supposedly on behalf of 
underprivileged individuals with their hands out for money, time, and 
other resources but seem to have a political agenda instead, not any 
real attempt to do good in the world.  Or that the real agenda is not 
clear and visible, and certainly not the formally stated public purpose.

And more to the point if I see words like I stated above, that some 
project is for "people in the developing world", I start out 
automatically suspicious that it is a scam and that such a group must 
then prove it is something otherwise.  That is all I was trying to 
imply.  I have seen far too many of these supposedly good project ideas 
turn into ways to seperate people from their money than I can count. 
 This is an opinion based on years of experience and seeing even 
positive fundraising opportunities turn sour and offer far more benefit 
to the individuals organizing the project than to the supposed targets 
of the effort.

The real purpose, for example, that the OLPC folks don't want to deal 
with EU or American states is because the laptop component 
manufacturer's that are offering price breaks for the OLPC don't want a 
competing computer product that would undercut their own sales in the 
USA and EU.  If that isn't a political agenda, I don't know what one is. 
 A very significant criticism that I have had about the OLPC is that 
they are not planning on offering these laptops at Wal-mart (or other 
1st world retailers), even for a moderate mark-up in price to help 
subsidize their distribution to other countries.  And the reasons to not 
offer them for sale in such a manner seem to ring very hallow and are 
very POV and politically motivated.

I am not denying that there are certainly some varying personal 
motivations for involvement in worthy projects like the Global Text 
Project and Wikimedia projects.  If one of them happens to be an 
altruistic belief that adding content to Wikipedia can help my 
sister-in-law that lives in Accra, Ghana, then so be it.  But there are 
other motivations beyond just working for 3rd world countries, and 
selling a very cheap encyclopedia to people in Africa.

-- 
Robert Scott Horning