Proposal:Keep the servers running

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The status of this proposal is:
Request for Discussion / Sign-Ups

Strategic Priorities

Every proposal should be tied to one of the strategic priorities below.

Edit this page to help identify the priorities related to this proposal!

1. Achieve continued growth in readership
2. Focus on quality content
3. Increase Participation
4. Stabilize and improve the infrastructure
5. Encourage Innovation

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Summary

The Wikimedia projects are made available on the Internet by means of dedicated computers, or "servers," which stay online 24/7 and transmit Wikimedia project content on demand. These servers and their Internet connections are paid for by Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.; they comprise the bulk of its tangible assets, and their maintenance is WMF's only mandatory responsibility.

Proposal

That Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. maintain sufficient financial solvency to keep the servers running, expanding the infrastructure as needed, in order to make Wikimedia project content available to anyone with an Internet connection.

A secondary goal would be to promise anyone a response time shorter than r seconds and a page load time shorter than s seconds. In some places Wikipedia is much slower than elsewhere, depending on proximity of cache servers.

Motivation

Although all Wikimedia project content is Free, and easily reproduced by anyone, the Internet domain names owned by WMF Inc. provide the principal method of accessing it, and its database is the canonical central location for expansion of its content. Without this central location, the projects would fracture, losing all brand power and splitting its contributor base.

Key Questions

What should be Wikimedia's chief priority?

Potential Costs

The 2009-2010 projection for Internet hosting is just over $1M, exclusive of staff and maintenance costs. It can only be assumed that this will increase in the future.

Disclaimer

This proposal was written tongue-in-cheek, but is intended as a serious reminder of the "movement's" core goal. There are some, in fact, who believe that the formally organized Wikimedia bodies should do only the minimum required to facilitate project content. While this proposal does not explicitly advocate that point of view, the author believes that it should be adequately represented.

Community Discussion

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