Yes, indeed this is a good question and an important issue. On a personal basis I am completely opposed to the filter and I imagine most Wikimedians in Australia are. However, I would caution that the Chapter cannot be seen in word or deed to be "responsible for" Wikipedia. This was a problem faced by Wikimedia UK in both the "virgin killer" and the National Portrait Gallery issues - the UK chapter was very careful not to place itself as the official spokesperson for Wikipedia.
Of course, the mandate of the Chapter is to advocate for Free Cultural Works and in that sense being involved in political lobbying is something that it can/could/should do. We have previously made a submission to a government inquiry for example. Making a statement about the filter or similar actions is within the chapter's powers. But... in the event that Wikipedia were to become blocked or was "caught up" in some scandal around this issue, the Chapter can only describe what Wikipedia policies and practices are - it cannot be seen as responsible for the content and have a policy for how to make Wikipedia unblocked or what-have-you. my 2 cents, -Liam wittylama.com/blog Peace, love & metadata On Wed, Dec 16, 2009 at 5:26 AM, Andrew <orderinchao...@gmail.com> wrote: > Matt, thanks - good question. As yet, no it doesn't have an official > position - I have forwarded this to the committee list so one can be > reached promptly. > > Cheers > Andrew > > > > On 16/12/2009, Matt inbgn <mattin...@gmail.com> wrote: > > Hi all, > > > > Does the chapter have a position on this > > proposal<http://www.minister.dbcde.gov.au/media/media_releases/2009/115> > > ? > > > > Should it have a position? > > > > If it has a position, what should it be doing to advance that position? > > > > Cheers, > > Matt > > > > _______________________________________________ > Wikimediaau-l mailing list > Wikimediaau-l@lists.wikimedia.org > https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediaau-l >
_______________________________________________ Wikimediaau-l mailing list Wikimediaau-l@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediaau-l
