Hi Maggie,
Could you answer a few things, or at least provide your (and the team's) reasoning:
1) It has now been stated multiple times it was urgent to get a policy like this. But you
tell us there's a secret playbook already in play, and I can't imagine that has
changed immediately just because there's now a visible policy, and with the break
shortly occurring, the WMF other teams can't really decide major things with it in
mind either. And it also took some time to (seemingly purely internally) write. So why is
it taking so long to explain why we're having to wait until after Christmas break to
discuss it? *Why is it retroactive discussion at all?*
2) The policy includes the line " use our influence with partners, the private
sector, and governments to advance and uphold respect for human rights." - you say
you note the tension from needing to have such a playbook be hidden to remain functional
and be a collaborative community.
I don't doubt your reasoning on the playbook, but this line is in effect "the
policy team will lobby for better human rights"...but without us knowing the actual
execution of methods, specifically raised areas, a complete listing of ongoing areas of
focus and so on. There is already a concern that the WMF spends too much time trying to
speak for the movement without actually knowing that their specific positions are backed
by the movement as a whole. Doing it with this dichotomy in place surely seems even less
wise.
3) Back, more generally, to the process issues. I emailed shortly after this went public,
at the time, some considerable time before the Christmas break. I just got a message
saying they were collating questions and would answer in the new year. But most of my
questions were on either "why was this procedure used" or "why was this
paragraph included", rather than substantive content change proposals.
If even I know why I included any given thing in a regular old policy that I help draft
and can thus answer questions rapidly, why was this not the case here. Surely the
reasoning for each bit of content and failure to publicly consult are already known? So
why the lag time?
Yours,
Richard (Nosebagbear)