[Foundation-l] Mission/Vision Statement

[Aphaia]

On 1/6/07, Erik Moeller <erik at wikimedia.org> wrote:
> On 1/6/07, Gregory Maxwell <gmaxwell at gmail.com> wrote:
> > In particular, I wonder why the "on the Internet free of charge" bit
> > was added to the mission statement.
>
> To emphasize the free licensing / free availability distinction, and
> to make it explicit that we are committed to both (which we very much
> are).

Understood. And I think it helpful for translators & coordinators;
there is always misunderstanding around the notion of "free".

One problem I found on working with translators is that some of them
tend to prefer to translate "free knowledge" into "knowledge free of
charge" and miss it means also (or rather) free licenced. I have been
trying to persuade them "knowledge free of charge" was not a good
translation, but whenever new translator(s) joined, I should repeat
"what free knowledge means here" preaches. More terrible thing is that
I am not sure if some translated versions are spreading this kind of
misunderstanding.... hopefully not .... but I am not sure. One of
possible reasons of this kind of misunderstanding may have been anyway
it is true we are working for knowledge free of charge too.

If Wikimedia itself pursue both form of free knowledge - knowledge as
free as both beer and speech, I think it makes a sense its mission
statement mentions *both* notions. Then no one shall misunderstand
what the word "free" means here.

-- 
KIZU Naoko
  Wikiquote: http://wikiquote.org
  * habent enim emolumentum in labore suo *