[Wikipedia-l] Setting a new server in France for french wikipedia

Tue Nov 11 13:47:01 UTC 2003

user_Jamesday wrote:
> 1. Does the main Wikipedia/Wikimedia foundation really want to be
>located on French soil and subject to French law with all
>international funds subject to judgements by French courts? I don't
>think that's wise unless it can't be avoided.

That's possibly a good point, but I don't consider it a particular danger.
I live in the US, beyond the reach of French courts.

This is perhaps a good argument to attempt to locate a European
subsidiary foundation in the nation with the best laws for freedom of
speech, though.  Which nation would that be?

> 2. Technically, isn't a caching proxy server a better idea? That
>way, those in France can avoid the transatlantic round trip time
>increases but still edit the main wikipedia/Wikimedia databases. (Mav,
>that's something your test didn't show, unless you were doing it from
>a French proxy service)

I am personally completely unconvinced at the present time that a
server in France would be worth the trouble for anyone.  The
transatlantic round trip time represents only a tiny fraction of the
time for rendering a page.  Our speed problems are much better
addressed with our existing upgrade plans.

Having said that, I should also say that I have been segregating funds
donated in the Euro currency, in case we find that spending money in
Europe directly is a wise thing to do.

--Jimbo