We're talking about when the report is published, not whether it is
published, so I fail to see what people losing their jobs or Wikimedia UK
losing its chapter status has to do with anything... If the report is so
damning that those are going to be the outcomes, then that is going to be
as much the case in a few days as it is now.
On Feb 6, 2013 4:48 PM, "HJ Mitchell" <hjmitchell(a)ymail.com> wrote:
Tom,
I've a lot of respect for you, and I usually agree with you. In fact, I
mostly agree with you on this issue - I would like to see the report
published sooner rather than later because even if it is absolutely
damning, it is in the charity's best interests to publish it and be seen to
be addressing the issues raised in it.
However, it is not your decision (or mine) to make, and there is more at
stake here than a delay in the membership being able to hold the board to
account. In the worst case scenario, potentially people's jobs, WMUK's
chapter status, and the UK community's relations with the WMF and the wider
movement are at risk. Thus, it is understandable that Jon and the board
might want some time to work out what they're going to do about it before
they are lambasted for the failings (to use your word) that are being
reported on.
Taking that into account, please moderate your tone. This is a public
mailing list and people don't want their inboxes filled with your
diatribes, and directing those diatribes at members of staff who work very
hard in the name of this charity and are limited in what they can say in
response by standards of professionalism and decency is unlikely to achieve
the result you desire and risks damaging the charity even further than the
actions you are complaining about.
Harry Mitchell
http://enwp.org/User:HJ
Phone: 024 7698 0977
Skype: harry_j_mitchell
------------------------------
*From:* Thomas Dalton <thomas.dalton(a)gmail.com>
*To:* UK Wikimedia mailing list <wikimediauk-l(a)lists.wikimedia.org>
*Sent:* Wednesday, 6 February 2013, 12:35
*Subject:* Re: [Wikimediauk-l] Governance review
On 6 February 2013 12:23, Stevie Benton <stevie.benton(a)wikimedia.org.uk>
wrote:
Tom, I don't see where anyone is making
excuses.
Try reading this email thread... To use the Wiktionary definition, an
excuse is "an explanation designed to avoid or alleviate guilt or
negative judgment".
In a statement of the form "We are (not) doing X because of Y" we call
Y an "excuse".
As your previous email acknowledges, the review
was co-commissioned by
Wikimedia UK and the Wikimedia Foundation. We are discussing the review
with
the Foundation and are in the process of
preparing a response. This
response
needs to be co-ordinated on both sides,
discussed, and consensus reached.
This doesn't happen immediately. Please do be assured that we are in
regular
contact with the WMF on this issue, as they are
with us.
As I have explained repeatedly, you do not need to discuss a response.
The response should simply say that we are now going to have an open
discussion with the community and decide where we go from here, and
you could have written that months ago. Or have you already decided
that you don't care what the community thinks and are just going to
make all the decisions about how to respond yourselves?
One other important point I want to address from
your email below, too.
You
say "co-commissioned a report into your own
failings". This is
inaccurate as
there are plenty of things that we do well that
the report will also look
at.
Well, yes, I would hope you haven't failed at everything. The review
was commissioned to look at your failings, though. Obviously, to work
out what your failings are, it will have looked at things that turned
out to be fine. Trying to deny that this is about your failings is
disingenuous.
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