[Foundation-l] On the cost of explaining things.

[Gregory Maxwell]

On Jan 8, 2008 7:58 PM, Erik Moeller <erik at wikimedia.org> wrote:
> - While I believe that information that doesn't cause harm should
> generally be publicized, one should not underestimate the cost of
> communication. Time we spend on replying to some long foundation-l or
> internal-l thread is time we don't spend doing the actual core work of
> the Foundation. Of course, one could account for some time being spent
> on such explanations, and one should.

In addition to being financially supported by the public, Wikimedia is
able to exist only through the generous contribution of time by tens
of thousands of people all over the world.

So, yes, communication is expensive but you are the glass maker
complaining about the cost of sand.  It's a cost of doing business.

These days it seems many users learn more about Wikimedia from leaks
and reporters than they do through the official channels. Does that
form of communication actually turn out to be less costly?