2009/8/25 Thomas Dalton
<thomas.dalton(a)gmail.com>om>:
How can you have a Q&A on a topic like this
that doesn't even address
the matter than you have sold a seat on the board? Has the WMF
completely lost touch with the community? It should be obvious that
this is going to be a highly controversial decision and yet you can't
even get the basic announcement right and don't even try and answer
the obvious question the community is going to ask.
(begin quote)
Why did the Wikimedia Foundation invite Matt Halprin to join its Board?
Matt's background and skills are a great fit for the Wikimedia
Foundation Board of Trustees, which has had two "expertise"
(non-community) seats vacant since last April. Matt is a Board member
of several other non-profit organizations, which means he will bring
general non-profit governance and oversight experience to Wikimedia.
His background at eBay gives him a good understanding of issues
related to online community, trust, reputation, privacy and content
quality: all key issues for the Wikimedia Foundation. Matt also has a
background in strategy development, which will be useful for the
Wikimedia Foundation as it embarks on its collaborative strategy
development project. The Wikimedia Foundation believes Matt will be a
terrific addition to Wikimedia's Board of Trustees.
Is Matt Halprin's Board seat an individual seat, or an Omidyar Network seat?
Like all Wikimedia Board members, Matt will be a member as an
individual, not as a representative of any particular organization or
constituency. All Wikimedia Foundation Board members have an
obligation to put the best interests of the Wikimedia Foundation
first, and to do their best to support and guide the organization, to
help it achieve its mission and goals. The Wikimedia Foundation looks
forward to Matt's participation on the Board.
(end quote)
Those answers don't address the fact that you've just given a seat on
the board to someone that has just given you a big pile of cash. I am
open to being convinced that this is a good thing, but you haven't
even tried to convince me. I am not arguing that Matt isn't a good
choice for the board, I am arguing that the circumstances of his
appointment are inappropriate. Had you discussed the general principle
of selling board seats with the community you might have got a
positive response, but you didn't ask.