[Imc-cymru] Independent Indycymru v's UK/Indywales

[ana]

Hi,

I would like to clarify, from an outside point of view...

Hedd Gwynfor wrote:
> [...]
>
> I would certainly rather see an 'Indycymru' system, where Wales's
> site is totally independent within the wider global group, 
This is somewhat contradictory. It is not only that you are either
"totally independent" or "within a wider" group. You will be autonomous
- even if you decide to go with uk btw - but you will need to comply
with certain criteria (see my previous email for links to principles,
criteria and faqs and other links)
> but if the
> only way forward is to go with our begging bowl to London, 
What? begging bowl? Being from indymedia london myself, I find this
quite insulting. This is about begging not about badly understood
charity mate, and if you think going "totally independent within the
wider global" network will not mean going "with our begging bowl" any
more than going begging to London, you are either very wrong or in the
wrong network. Or you have not understood anything.
> to try and
> build an indywales mini-site within indymediaUK, 
Well, I admit London might be a mini-site. But calling Sheffield,
Oxford, Nottingham to name a few mini-sites, I would find quite
insulting too, if I was involved there.
> then that's better
> than nothing.
>   
A lot better than these bad feelings would be to see you offering some
positive action in order to achieve whatever website you want to see
happening. Indeed better than nothing, you just need to make it happen,
that's all.
> Hopefully, like devolution in Wales, it would be a stepping-stone
> towards full autonomy ;-)
>   
It might be difficult to understand autonomy and similar concepts,
specially when it is difficult to refer to a geographical area without
mention to political territories. But we need to separate that. In other
words, and to explain how indymedia works. Working within a uk indymedia
site does not mean to work "under a uk governemnt" of any kind. Working
without indymedia uk does not mean to work "independently from the UK".
It means working with or without the people who have put together an
indymedia website that happens to be named "uk" (united kollectives, as
it was once decided...) because the "people" working on that site,and
then the network working on that site,decided to name it so.

indymedia is not a governmental organisation, it is a network of groups
and persons who name themselves as they wish and who help eachother
regardless of nationality. At the same time, these groups and networks
are constrained by circumstances, resources and language. This is why
people tend to collaborate with people who are close geographically, and
sites tend to have the name of cities, countries, regions.

You always depend on some one in the network - be it uk network, or
global network. Unless you have the technical people, knowledge and
resources i.e. server and bandwidth, you will have to ask for help - and
it is usually more practical to ask for help from some
people/network/group that live next to you and/or speak the same language.

As I have explained before here (you can read the archives of this
month) I will help you, if you want me to, whatever route you decide to
take, with as much knowledge as I can gather, which will not be enough
and we / you will need to gather more info from other people as you go
along.

But just like with any other project, we will have the limitations of
resources, the practicalities. For instance if none of you have a big
server with a big bandwidth (and please do not ask me what exactly "big"
means), you will have to ask for server space somewhere. It will be far
easier, almost automatic, to find that space if you decide to go the uk
route. If you decide the global route, getting server space will not be
by any means automatic. Even if you beg them :-p

Which you will not need to do because this network is about sharing
resources, knowledge and time, not about what you seem to think it is.

Welcome to the network.

ana
one of imc london + uk