On Sun, Jan 22, 2012 at 2:46 PM, Theo10011 <de10...@gmail.com> wrote: > Mike, I completely understand your point on this and where you are coming > from. But you made a conflicting point yourself....
<text omitted> > But as I saw it, we already > made our voice heard? When we blacked out Wikipedia for 24 hours, and saw > some measurable impact in the standing within congress, not to mention the > coverage and support in the media. Another important lesson about arguing issues in Washington is that the fight is never over. The content companies have been at war with technology companies for decades over copyright issues. The fact that we were heard one day (or even one week) in 2012 is no basis for complacency. >It > might not be a worthwhile use of the money, considering all the millions > floating around on lobbyists between for-profit corporations, this might be > more than what we should take on at the time? I believe Kat Walsh deserves credit for pointing out that, while we strive for NPOV in our encyclopedic content, the very existence of an encyclopedia -- and a freely available one at that -- signifies a political position. (Encyclopedists and librarians have known this for some time.) > Lobbying generally sounds of > closed door dealings, and large amounts of money spent on convincing > politicians, in this case, convincing them to do the right thing. That's certainly a common stereotype. In practice, however, and under American law, those meetings get reported and publicized, and nonprofit organizations that meet with policymakers are held strictly accountable for what they do. And, it must be stressed, they can't spend "large amounts of money" on "convincing politicians." We have laws about that here. >When a > non-profit engages in it publicly, one that prides itself on being small and > independent, it affects my perception of it. It might just be me, but I > would rather see public statements, and actions like the blackout over > lobbying any day. This is not an either/or choice. Small, independent voices can be heard, if you know what you're doing. --Mike _______________________________________________ foundation-l mailing list foundation-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/foundation-l