I would agree with this in principle. From what I have seen so far, it looks like either Snøhetta have not done their homework on how we operate, or they have the arrogance of PR agencies, don't care, and plan to spin their way through with smoke and mirrors, flashy pages with lots of buzz, little content and all the dialogue they can't avoid. Maybe I am wrong, and they have just been badly briefed. Who can tell from the outside? Block evasion does not bode well for their understanding of the community. Cheers, Peter
-----Original Message----- From: Wikimedia-l [mailto:wikimedia-l-bounces@lists.wikimedia.org] On Behalf Of Pine W Sent: Friday, March 13, 2020 8:13 PM To: Wikimedia Mailing List Subject: Re: [Wikimedia-l] Brand Project: Who are we as a movement?
Hello,
First, a disclaimer that these comments aren't directed personally at you, Essie.
Even if money was unlimited, I thought that Snøhetta deserved the community's trust, and I felt that WMF was a good steward of resources (all of which are questionable), I don't think that this project is a good idea. Wikidata is an increasingly important component of the Wikiverse, and there are a some problems with WMF rebranding itself as the Wikipedia Foundation including the risk to the communities and affiliates from WMF's political adventures, governance problems, and occasional high profile clashes with the community. I don't think that the costs or the risks here make sense, I wouldn't involve Snøhetta given its apparent block evasion on English Wikipedia, and I've been unimpressed with WMF's handling of this process during the past few months.
I am fine with discussions about branding, but not with this program in its current form.
Given the choice, I would freeze this project and spending associated with it pending a Meta RfC regarding the community's view on whether this project should continue. If the community wants a branding project to continue, I would let the community decide on the project's parameters and budget, and what if any consultant should be involved.
Pine ( https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Pine )
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