Thursday, April 30, 2009

Wikimedia Chapters Agreement

We've received word today from Mike Godwin, chief legal council of the WMF, that the first draft of the new Wikimedia Chapters agreement is nearing completion, and parts have been posted on the internal wiki to solicit feedback from the existing chapters.

I haven't read the new agreement yet myself (I will soon) and I probably don't feel comfortable talking about the details until we get closer to an "official" version of it, but I can say that from what I've heard it's going to be a huge step forward in the way the WMF and the chapters interact. I hear tell that the document is longer and more legally precise, which is going to help immensely with many of the common questions and uncertaintys that were present in the old "classic" chapters agreement.

I don't currently know how the new agreement is to be rolled out, whether existing chapters will have to sign the new agreement or not. Again, I haven't read it and probably won't give out any details till it's time.

So things are moving forward in the world of WMF chapters, and that's always a good thing.