Difference between revisions of "Internal:Public Policy"

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(New idea: wiki loves Capitol Hill presentation)
(Native American Languages)
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:* useful for those of us who do not have a work affiliation we can use for open-source / free-knowledge work
 
:* useful for those of us who do not have a work affiliation we can use for open-source / free-knowledge work
 
:* an alternative framing is that coordination with the WMF is required ; but this is costly for moving quickly
 
:* an alternative framing is that coordination with the WMF is required ; but this is costly for moving quickly
  +
:* Wikipedias in Native American languages
   
 
* Software patents are a subject in the public sphere. The Supreme Court will hear a software/business-methods case ("the Alice case") on March 31 at 10am
 
* Software patents are a subject in the public sphere. The Supreme Court will hear a software/business-methods case ("the Alice case") on March 31 at 10am
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* the right to repair [https://www.eff.org/event/remember-remember-5th-november-ifixit], [http://ifixit.org/right], [www.daily-journal.com/business/ifixit-and-the-right-to-repair/article_07143f91-5093-53bd-b805-ccf993bda787.html?mode=jqm]
 
* the right to repair [https://www.eff.org/event/remember-remember-5th-november-ifixit], [http://ifixit.org/right], [www.daily-journal.com/business/ifixit-and-the-right-to-repair/article_07143f91-5093-53bd-b805-ccf993bda787.html?mode=jqm]
 
* net neutrality
 
* net neutrality
  +
* Native Language Immersion Student Achievement Act http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2014/01/17/senators-fight-preserve-tribal-cultures-through-native-languages-153158

Revision as of 15:58, 26 January 2014

At an upcoming Wikimedia DC board meeting the establishment of a Wikimedia DC Public Policy Committee will be considered. The draft resolution is here: Internal:Public_Policy_Committee_resolution.

Below are some working activities related to the committee's likely internal charter and work.

Public policy work group proposal
  • Work group within Wiki DC
  • Can edit articles on legislation and court cases (meeting usual criteria of neutral language, sourcing of statements, and working cooperatively online) -- we've done well creating the article on the upcoming case Alice Corp. v. CLS Bank International
  • Can team up with Cato Institute for edit-a-thons
  • Prepare congressional briefings in 2014 after good experiences in 2013 (Prep materials used in 2013 round)
  • possible talk at WikiConference USA: Wiki Loves Capitol Hill. (SlowKing4 to link to meta)
  • Maintain a page on Wiki-DC site for our activities and views
  • Can organize group trip to see software patents case argued at Supreme Court.
  • Can take public positions on copyrights, patents, and free knowledge issues? Coordinated with WMF and others? Erik Moeller pointed me to a person in the WMF general counsel's office to coordinate with on software patents issue.
Taking positions on public matters
  • The Wikimedia DC board must approve any public document from the committee representing the chapter, before release
  • Background: in 2013, Wiki DC was publicly committed to resisting/changing SOPA/PIPA, and supporting WMF's blackout of the Wikipedias. This was framed as advocating for Internet freedom. Wiki DC had some budget capacity for this.
  • Software patenting comes up in impending judicial cases (no legislative consideration at the moment)
  • Work group should not claim to represent Wiki-DC without board approval of specifics (?)
  • Generally Wiki-DC and this group should takes stances (if any) that are in the public interest of free knowledge, not stances organized towards the narrow interest of the organization
  • Members can self-identify as members of Wiki DC in public, without apology, but do not generally represent the organization except with board approval
  • useful for those of us who do not have a work affiliation we can use for open-source / free-knowledge work
  • an alternative framing is that coordination with the WMF is required ; but this is costly for moving quickly
  • Wikipedias in Native American languages
  • Software patents are a subject in the public sphere. The Supreme Court will hear a software/business-methods case ("the Alice case") on March 31 at 10am
  • Could blog in advance on the topic, write learned papers, or coauthor briefs
  • We can organize a chapter trip to see the case argued. An experienced person told me that if we organize a group of ten we can get seats for the entire case. They give tickets. It takes a little planning but he can help. We'll need to gather interested people and perhaps combine this with a salon or edit-a-thon or anyway a trip to a cafe.
  • Possible teammates or coauthors: WMF ; Creative Commons ; Electronic Frontier Foundation ; Public Knowledge ; Open Knowledge Foundation ; OSI ; many others
  • Work group might propose a talk for Wikimania 2014 on public policy issues, e.g. "Software patents: an update from the U.S.", or "Government software procurement", or "Can chapters take public policy positions?"
Background -- topics and legislation of interest