Dear Shyamal, and everyone,
I apologize for not responding in a timely manner to your question on the
Wikimedia Forum[1]. Since that thread is now archived, and because I don't
want to "bury" my respond, I'm responding here, on this list where most of
the people who care will read it.
To your question: Vishnu did ask me -- at the time (the delay is all mine)
-- about sharing the WMF and CIS agreement publicly. We will not be
sharing that agreement, on principle: not because there's anything secret
or damning in it, but because we do not want to create a misleading
precedent that may set the expectation that all WMF contracts are subject
to community review. This isn't, and cannot be, the case. We likewise do
not expect chapters or other partners to publicly share contracts.
That said, I am happy to answer the question that prompted you to want to
look at the agreement, viz. whether the community "really has the right to
complain about things like lack of discussions / transparency etc." -- the
answer is: yes, of course! The community is our ally in ensuring
meaningful work gets accomplished, in India as in elsewhere in the world.
We not only "allow", but _want_ the community to review CIS-A2K's work,
just like it reviews WMF's work (on more global/technical matters, e.g. the
visual editor), Wikimedia India's work, and any other group operating in or
around the Wikimedia projects.
I believe Vishnu and the rest of the A2K team have been receptive to
feedback (even when it included abuse and accusations of bad faith), and it
seems to me they have been working to address those parts of that feedback
that pointed to genuine deficiencies or oversights on their part.
CIS is a grantee of the Wikimedia Foundation; it is an independent
organization carrying out work that we want to see done in India, according
to an approved work plan. I am the person at WMF responsible for the
partnership with CIS, and I am regularly in touch with Vishnu to hear about
progress, challenges, and successes.
I encourage all community members to continue to engage with the A2K team
in good faith (and patience), on Meta, the different language Wikipedias,
and mailing lists, as appropriate, to keep the feedback cycle going.
IF anyone finds that they have reached a dead end in direct dialogue with
the A2K team, I certainly want to hear about it, and, if I find merit in
the issue, I can certainly bring it up in my periodic calls with Vishnu and
ask for it to be addressed. Please don't hesitate to reach out to me
personally in such a case, but only if you've first tried discussing it
directly with no result.
I hope that answers your question.
Cheers,
Asaf
[1]
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Forum/Archives/2013-08#Terms_.2F_…
--
Asaf Bartov
Wikimedia Foundation <http://www.wikimediafoundation.org>
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