Harry,

Some of the issues I’ve seen brought up that I think are interesting points:

·         What if it was Microsoft, or Google, that was running this research, rather than Harvard University? Would we have their logos on the front page too? What if it was Mozilla, or the Free Software Foundation? Where do we draw the line?

·         If the Research Committee are allowed to post central notices after a short discussion, are others allowed to as well? Who decides what goes up? Can the British Library or Oxford University put up a banner about their research?

·         If Google (or Microsoft, or Tesco) put their logo on the front page as part of this research, does that clash with Wikimedia UK’s charitable objectives at all?

·         Some of the reward money was apparently donated to the WMF: are local chapters to get a share of this too? Where did the money come from in the first place, who is funding the research?

Like I said, just a few points to stimulate discussion. They might be baseless, but it’s always best to think about these things in depth. As it happens, I’m not overly concerned, but as a volunteer I’d like to have seen a bit more discussion about this somewhere first. And yes, I did take the survey: I earned $17, although I must say I was hoping for more.

Richard Symonds